The Force and Effects of the 1960 Valdivia Earthquake

Before the quake hit the day before, there were a series of shocks that tipped off to people of Chile that something was coming. The day that the earthquake hit, it was a rated a 9.5 on the Richter Scale. The intensity of this caused thousands of buildings to be destroyed and 2,000,000 people left homeless. The population of the city had greatly decreased and the city also needed to pay for the damage to be repaired. It would be 800 million American dollars to complete the cleanup and repairs of the city almost completely. This earthquake was called “The Great Chilean Earthquake” because of the total destruction and because of the expansion of it where other countries received the aftershocks and effects. Japan had received a tsunami a day later, killing 138 people and leaving 1600 homes destroyed. Japan was left to pay 34 million dollars for damage

The earthquake was located on the San Andreas fault which is a seismic zone between two of the earth’s tectonic plates. Seismic events which occur is caused as a result of the earth’s tectonic plates moving against each other and this can cause huge earthquakes and volcanoes (“Young”). The transform boundary passes through California and this is where the Pacific and North American plates move past each other without colliding. The event in which this occurred was the San Andreas fault (“Young”). When the plates move past each other and the resistance builds up, this causes an earthquake like the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. This earthquake caused a separation and displacement in the landscape which was seen over several kilometers

The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake tectonic setting was in the outermost shell of earth known as the crust this is composed of rigid plates that have been moving for hundreds of millions of years. Two of these moving plates meet in western California; the boundary between them is a zone of faults, the principal one being the San Andreas fault. The horizontal sliding of the Pacific Plate relative to the North American Plate, causes earthquakes along the San Andreas fault and similar plates near the region. The San Andreas fault is a transform plate boundary, accommodating horizontal relative motions (usgs.gov).

The tectonic setting for the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake was in the outermost shell of earth consisting of rigid plates that have been moving for hundreds of millions of years. Two of these moving plates meet in western California; the boundary between them is a zone of faults, the principal one being the San Andreas fault. The Pacific Plate (on the west) slides horizontally northwestward relative to the North American Plate (on the east), causing earthquakes along the San Andreas and associated faults. The San Andreas fault is a transform plate boundary, accommodating horizontal relative motions (usgs.gov).

Large magnitude earthquakes occur on plate boundaries and can produce hazards such as movement along faults, landslides, and tsunamis. In North America, the western coast is an active margin, meaning that it is home to earthquakes and

The New Madrid Seismic Zone has remained relatively quiet in the last 2000 years, with the largest earthquake only being rated a 6.3 on the richter scale, occurring in 1895. Since 1974, seismometers have been utilized to capture earthquakes that are too small to notice, known as microearthquakes. These microearthquakes have been recorded in numbers greater than 4,000 since 1975. These shocks were first thought to be aftershocks of the earthquakes that occurred 165 years ago, but with the exponential amount of recurrence, there is something rumbling deep in the earth's crust. Clearly, the New Madrid Seismic Zone is anything but quiet. The candid truth is it is not a matter of if , but when. The Seismic Zone is long overdue for an earthquake. Susan Hough, a seismologist of the United States Geological Survey told NPR ,that “Even though we can't predict earthquakes, we can predict the rates of aftershocks over time. The frequency of aftershocks - smaller quakes that follow the big earthquake - decreases with time, known in seismology as Omori's Law. And in the New Madrid Seismic Zone, the aftershocks aren't following Omori's Law." So will America experience another 1811 quake? Although time will tell, we better

Violent shocks occurred which lasted some 45 to 60 seconds. The earthquake was felt from Oregon to Los Angeles and as far as central Nevada. The Earthquake ranks as one of the worst natural disasters in US history and one of the most significant earthquakes of all time. It affected 375,000 square miles. Most of the earthquake was absorbed by the pacific ocean.

On Friday March 11th, 2011 at 2:46 pm, the fifth largest earthquake recorded since 1900 with a magnitude of 9.0, 1.7 Richter scale points greater than the devastating Vancouver Island earthquake of 1946, struck the coast of Japan, 231 miles northeast of Tokyo1, causing a devastating regional and global catastrophe.

Seismologists cannot predict when an earthquake will occur but that can assume why and how it will happen. Geologist have confirmed is knowing where in the world they are likely to happen. They have good estimates of the expected long-term rates of

One of the most significant earthquakes to hit the San Fernando Valley in the past was the 1971 San Fernando/ Sylmar earthquake. On February 9, 1971 at about 6 o’clock the cities of San Fernando and Sylmar experienced an earthquake that ruptured along the Sierra Madre Fault Zone (Oakeshott, Gordon B). The epicenter of this earthquake was reported to be in the San Gabriel Valley Mountains above the valley. The citizens of both cities felt tremendous shaking. The magnitude of the earthquake was measured as a 6.6 on the Richter scale and the shaking had the intensity of a level 11 (extreme) on the Modified Mercalli system (U.S. Geological Survey). The shaking of this 6.6 magnitude earthquake lasted about 12 seconds with a very strong ground motion. The source of this faulting was located about five miles to the north of the San Fernando valley. The surface faulting of this earthquake was reported to be seen along the surface of the San Fernando fault zone from a point south of Sylmar, the faulting stretched 6 miles more as far as east to the little Tujunga Canyon, also more surface faulting was reported more east as well. In total the maximum surface rupture was 12 miles and the amount of slip was about 6 feet (U.S. Geological Survey). The type of fault scientist label this earthquake to be was an oblique-slip or also known as a thrust. The depth of this earthquake was 13km (8.1 mi) and the peak acceleration was when it reached the Pacoima dam having the speed of 1.25g (U.S.

A sequence of strong earthquakes hit the country of Chile between 21st of May and the 6th of June with first recording was the Conception Earthquake with a magnitude of 8.1 on the Richter scale. Then the most powerful of them, the Valdivia earthquake hit; affecting all of Chile more than 400,000 square kilometers with devastation point in magnitude between 9.4 and 9.6 on the Richter scale. The United States Geological Survey would later confirm that the magnitude of the earthquake

There are many dangers to an earthquake. Earthquakes can cause damage to cities and many people end up injured or dead. The shaking of the ground can cause mudslides and landslides.Earthquakes can also cause terrible tsunamis.Earthquakes can occur on convergent, divergent, and transform boundaries. They can also can occur on subduction zones. In this case, the earthquake occurred on a subduction zone. Subduction is the process of which the denser plate sinks under the less dense

pointless for us to worry and try to figure out when the next big earthquake could

Magnitude of the earthquake was 9.5 out of 10, with a rupture zone of about 1,000 km. About 1,655 people were killed, 3,000 wounded, 2 million homeless, and about $550 million lost in southern Chile. The volcano actually triggered a tsunami that killed 61 people and caused extensive damage in Hawaii, the Philippines, Easter Island, Samoa, and California. Residual damage caused landslides and volcanic eruptions after two days and lasted for several weeks. There were four foreshocks with magnitudes of seven or upper, five aftershocks with seven or upper levels, and some volcanoes. The first tremors and aftershocks began on May 21, 1960 and lasted until November 1, 2016.

The quake was named 1969 Valdivia Earthquake. The reason why the earthquake had struck Chile was because the Nazca Plate collided under the South American plate. (Richard Pallardy, Britannica), (Extreme Science) The quake struck Chile at 7.11 P.M, the speed going at 100 miles per hour. By the ending of this powerful earthquake, the damage caused 2 Million people to become homeless and killed around 5,000-6,000 people.