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Chile is on the western coast of the continent of South America, this is the boundary between two tectonic plates, the Nazca plate (which is an oceanic plate) and the South American plate (a continental crustal plate).
In this region the Nazca plate is moving eastwards towards the South American plate. The dense oceanic crust of the Nazca plate is being forced under or subducted beneath the less dense continental crust of the South American Plate.
The Nazca and South American plates are converging at a rate of approximately 80mm / year. This causes stress to accumulate resulting in elastic strain which stores elastic potential energy. Once the stress exceeds the strength of the rocks in the crust a brittle failure occurs, causing in this case thrust faulting to occur. The stored elastic strain energy is released in the form of seismic waves.
This form of thrust faulting usually results in the most powerful earthquakes and in the past Chile has experienced a magnitude 9.5 earthquake caused by the same tectonic plate motions - the most powerful ever recorded.
Please see the related question for further information.
What else can I help you with?
What was the date of Chile earthquake?
The date of the Chile Earthquake was on the 27th February 2010
How long did the 2010 Chile earthquake last?
The 2010 Chilean earthquake lasted 90 seconds.
What was the haiti earthquake ranked?
I believe the January 10th 2010 Haiti earthquake was the 18th largest in the records.It was magnitude of 7.0 on the Richter Scale. It had the energy of a 32 million tons of TNT.To put that into perspective. It was 500 times less than the mag 8.8 earthquake to hit Chile on Feb, 27 2010 (15.8 billion tons of TNT) and 2,000 times less than the mag 9.1 Indian Ocean earthquake of December 26, 2004 (90.7 billion tons of TNT).One aftershock of the February 27th 2010 Chile earthquake at 08:01 GMT was almost as big as Haiti at mag 6.9.The largest earthquake on record was also just off the coast of Chile about 100 miles south of the 2010 one on May 22nd 1960. It was mag 9.5 earthquake and was 5,500 times bigger at 178 billion tons of TNT.
What was the duration of the Illinois earthquake of February 10 2010?
2.5 sec
When was the earthquake in Northern Illinois?
It was on february 10, 2010, before 4 am.
What was the date of Chile earthquake?
The date of the Chile Earthquake was on the 27th February 2010
What was the biggest earthquake in 2010?
The Chile Earthquake in February was the biggest earthquake reported in 2010.
When did 2010 Chile earthquake happen?
Saturday February 27, 2010
What was the date of 2010 Chile earthquake?
Feburary 27, 2010. 3:34 local time, 6:34 UTC.
Where did a magnitude 9.5 earthquake occur in 1960?
The epicenter for the 1960 Great Chilean Earthquake or Valdivia Earthquake happened near the city of Cantete about 100 miles south of the 2010 Chile earthquake.
Where were all the biggest earthquakes in 2010?
The biggest earthquake reported in 2010 was the Chile Earthquake on February 27 with a magnitude of 8.8.
How long did the Chile earthquake last on February 28 2010?
It lasted about 3 minutes.
Where did the Chile earthquake hit first?
The 2010 Chilean earthquake first hit just off the coast of Chile 325 km SW of Santiago at the depth of 59.4 km at 06:34 UTC. More accurately it occurred Latitude -35.83 and Longitude -72.67.
Where was the Chilean earthquake epicenter?
The epicenter of the earthquake in Chile on February 27 2010 was 100 km NNW of the nearest city, Chillan, which has a population of 170,000 people and around 115 km NNE of Concepcion (population 292,589, metropolitan area population of 1,322,581). According to the USGS the exact co-ordinates were 35.846°S, 72.719°W.
Where was the 2010 Japan earthquake's epicenter?
The Ryukyu Islands earthquake of February 26, 2010, occurred near the boundary that accommodates most of the relative motion between the Philippine Sea and Eurasia tectonic plates. The coordinates of its epicenter are: 25.902°N, 128.417°E
When did the 2010 Chile earthquake happen?
The Chilean earthquake that occurred on the 27th of February 2010 commenced at 06:34:14 GMT / 03:34:14 local time. The worlds largest recorded earthquake, also occurred off the coast of Chile in 1960 on the 22nd of May at 19:11 GMT / 14:11 local time. Please see the related links and questions for further information.
Which medical relief groups have sent helpers to Chile in the wake of the earthquake on February 27 2010?
UNICEF
