Earthquakes in North and South America
The Ring of Fire borders the North and South American tectonic plates, which is along the west side of North and South America. So, it comes to no shock that two of the most powerful earthquakes ever occured along this line. Here are the stats:
1. 1960 Valdivia Earthquake- On May 22,1960, a quake of 9.5 magnitude on the richter scale , literaly, rocked the world. People were also affected in Hawaii, Japan, Australia, California, and New Zealand. This was the most powerful eartquake of all time, and the death of 1,000-6,000 people. The Nazca plate subducted under the South American plate, and it's right by the Peru-Chile trench. Recently, there have been small earthquakes staring January 29th through February 1st. The biggest one hit 5.1 magnitude on the richter scale, and the others ranged from 3.9-4.6 magnitude on the richter scale.
2. 1964 Alaska Earthquake- An earthquake of 9.2 magnitude occured on the 27th of March, 1964. This was the second most powerful earthquake of all time, but only killed approximetly 139 people. The epicenter of the quake is fairly close to the Denali Fault and the Alaska-Aleutian fault is not far off coast. As of lately, small earthquakes have occured over Januray 29th-31st. The smaller ones ranged from 3.1-3.6 magnitude on the richter scale, and the biggest hit a magnitude of 5.2.
3. 1868 Arica Earthquake- While this may not be the top 2 most destructive earthquakes ever, it's not something to look down upon. On August 13th, 1868, the 6th most powerful earthquake of all time hit Arica, Chile, and parts of Peru. It measured up to be 8.5-9.0 magnitude on the richter scale. The epicenter was right by the Peru-Chile trench, and the quake killed about 500 people. Over the last couple of days, January 30th-February 1st, small earthquakes ranged from 4.0-4.6 magnitude on the richter scale, and the biggest one hit 4.8 on the richter scale.
Earthquakes are expected to occur around some of these places, mainly on the fault lines that these earthquakes occur on. There will most likely be ones on the boundaries between tectonic plates, like when the Pacific Plate rubs past the North American Plate, or if the Nazca Plate continues to subduct under the Pacific Plate.
1. 1960 Valdivia Earthquake- On May 22,1960, a quake of 9.5 magnitude on the richter scale , literaly, rocked the world. People were also affected in Hawaii, Japan, Australia, California, and New Zealand. This was the most powerful eartquake of all time, and the death of 1,000-6,000 people. The Nazca plate subducted under the South American plate, and it's right by the Peru-Chile trench. Recently, there have been small earthquakes staring January 29th through February 1st. The biggest one hit 5.1 magnitude on the richter scale, and the others ranged from 3.9-4.6 magnitude on the richter scale.
2. 1964 Alaska Earthquake- An earthquake of 9.2 magnitude occured on the 27th of March, 1964. This was the second most powerful earthquake of all time, but only killed approximetly 139 people. The epicenter of the quake is fairly close to the Denali Fault and the Alaska-Aleutian fault is not far off coast. As of lately, small earthquakes have occured over Januray 29th-31st. The smaller ones ranged from 3.1-3.6 magnitude on the richter scale, and the biggest hit a magnitude of 5.2.
3. 1868 Arica Earthquake- While this may not be the top 2 most destructive earthquakes ever, it's not something to look down upon. On August 13th, 1868, the 6th most powerful earthquake of all time hit Arica, Chile, and parts of Peru. It measured up to be 8.5-9.0 magnitude on the richter scale. The epicenter was right by the Peru-Chile trench, and the quake killed about 500 people. Over the last couple of days, January 30th-February 1st, small earthquakes ranged from 4.0-4.6 magnitude on the richter scale, and the biggest one hit 4.8 on the richter scale.
Earthquakes are expected to occur around some of these places, mainly on the fault lines that these earthquakes occur on. There will most likely be ones on the boundaries between tectonic plates, like when the Pacific Plate rubs past the North American Plate, or if the Nazca Plate continues to subduct under the Pacific Plate.