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The 1960 Valdivia earthquake and tsunami (Spanish: Terremoto de Valdivia) or the Great Chilean earthquake (Gran terremoto de Chile) occurred on 22 May 1960.Most studies have placed it at 9.4–9.6 on the moment magnitude scale, [1] while some studies have placed the magnitude lower than 9.4.
Chile lies in a region which is adjacent to the fast-moving Nazca plate, and has high tectonic activity.The records for earlier centuries are apparently incomplete. Of the world's 46 known earthquakes with M ≥ 8.5 since the year 1500, one-third occurred in Chile [citation needed] and are shown in the map to the side.
Chile lies above a convergent plate boundary, an area where the Nazca plate under the Pacific Ocean is subducted or moved beneath the South American plate.In the region around Valparaiso, the rate of convergence is about 70 mm/yr. [6] As these two plates converge, it drives the Nazca plate with massive movements called megathrust earthquakes.
The largest recorded megathrust earthquake was the 1960 Valdivia earthquake, estimated between magnitudes 9.4–9.6, centered off the coast of Chile along the Peru-Chile Trench, where the Nazca plate subducts under the South American plate. [26] This megathrust region has regularly generated extremely large earthquakes.
The 1965 Valparaíso earthquake (also known as the La Ligua earthquake) struck near La Ligua in Valparaíso Region, Chile, about 140 km (87 mi) from the capital Santiago on Sunday, March 28 at 12:33 local time. The moment magnitude (M w ) 7.4–7.6 earthquake killed 400–500 people and inflicted US$1 billion (adjusted for inflation) in damage.
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck off the northern coast of Chile on Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, although there were no initial reports of damage.
The 1939 Chillán earthquake occurred in south-central Chile on 24 January with a surface-wave magnitude of 8.3 [1] and a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme).With a death toll of around 28,000, [4] compared to the 2,231–6,000 (official estimates vary greatly) [5] [6] of the Great Chilean earthquake of 1960, it is the single deadliest earthquake in Chile.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake struck at 9:33 a.m. local time (12:33 p.m. GMT), and its epicenter was 42 kilometers (26 miles) southwest of Huasco, a city in Chile’s Atacama region.