1960 Valdivia earthquake

A magnitude 9.5 megathrust earthquake struck off southern Chile on May 22, 1960. It remains the largest earthquake measured by modern instruments.

Nazca Plate: An oceanic tectonic plate that moves eastward beneath South America along the Peru–Chile Trench. Its motion beneath South America drove the earthquake’s rupture.
1960 Chilean tsunami in Hawaii: The destructive tsunami that reached Hawaii after crossing the Pacific from Chile. Its waves killed 61 people in Hilo and devastated parts of the waterfront.
Peru–Chile Trench: A deep ocean trench marking the convergent boundary where the Nazca Plate descends beneath South America. The earthquake originated along this subduction boundary offshore.
1960 Valdivia earthquake rupture: The fault-breaking region of the 1960 earthquake, extending roughly 1,000 kilometers along the Chilean margin. Its exceptional length and displacement explain the event’s huge seismic moment.
South American Plate: A tectonic plate carrying most of South America and part of the Atlantic Ocean floor. The earthquake ruptured the plate boundary where it overrides the Nazca Plate.
1960 Chilean tsunami in Japan: The tsunami that struck Japan about a day after the earthquake in Chile. It caused deaths and damage on Japan’s Pacific coast despite the great distance.
1960 Concepción earthquake: A magnitude 8.1 earthquake that struck central Chile on May 21, 1960, before the Valdivia main shock. It preceded the main event by about a day and formed part of the broader seismic sequence.
1964 Alaska earthquake: A magnitude 9.2 megathrust earthquake that struck southern Alaska on March 27, 1964. It is the second-largest instrumentally recorded earthquake and a close comparison in scale.
Megathrust earthquake: A large earthquake on a locked fault where one tectonic plate descends beneath another. The Valdivia event was an exceptionally powerful rupture of this fault type.
1960 Chilean tsunami in the Philippines: The tsunami waves that reached the Philippines after the 1960 Chile earthquake. The event’s far-reaching waves also caused fatalities in the Philippines.

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