U.S.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR EARTHQUAKE SUMMARY MAP

M8.8 Maule, Chile, Earthquake of 27 February 2010

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Prepared in
cooperation
with the Global
Seismographic
Network
A
N

Tectonic Setting Offshore Maule, Chile

Epicentral Region
D
E
P

80 70 60 50 27 February 2010 6:34:14 UTC

e

76 74 72 70 68
r

35.846 S., 72.719 W.

u

Depth 35 km
EXPLANATION
L . Ti t ic a c a
Mw = 8.8 (USGS)
B

2001 1922
28
a s i

Great Rupture
ALTIPLANO 200 miles southwest of Santiago, Chile, Intensity VIII-IX felt
BOLIVIA
PLATE throughout the region. Tsunami with wave height up to 2.5 m
1918 observed at Valpairaiso. Over 1000 people killed.
Year
n

P
Area
E
20 La Rioja
R

Mag 7.0
U
e
idg

- CH
a R

20
0 - 69 km
ILE TR EN CH

P
zc

30

A
La Serena

R
Na

A
70 - 299 Coquimbo

G
U
E S

A
n

Y
300 - 600
s i

Plate Boundaries
B a

30
A N D

1943
1922 Subduction
na

1977
e

Pa r a
C h i l

Transform
30
Divergent San Juan

EPICENTRAL Others
30 REGION
URUGUAY
Argentin
Active Volcanoes 32
e Rise
A
E

as in
NTIN

ee n B
L

gev
Rog
I

32 1971
H

ARGE

Mendoza
C

1960
1906
C 1985
h NA Z C A Valparaiso
PLATEZ o n e
40
i SOUTH
ure Santiago
l
e ia Fra
ct AMERICA A'
Argentin
V aldiv PLATE e Basin
40 R 34
i
s
e EXPLANATION
t
heas
Sout fic
Pac i Main Shock San
n
Basi 34 Fernando

C H
Aftershocks (42 hours)
Fa lk

Earthquakes 1900 - 2009

land
Es car p
ment

E N
1914 1928
50
Falkland Plate
au M 4.00 - 5.99
gton

T R
Talca
Mornin ldt) A
(Humb
o M 6.00 - 6.99
50 RELATIVE PLATE MOTIONS Plain Georgia R
uth idg M 7.00 - 7.99
So e 36

I L E
In the region of this earthquake,
earthquakes define the90boundary Ya g h a n SCOTIA SEA PLATE M >= 8.00 1939
100 80 70 Bas in 60 50
between the South American and
Nazca Plates, which are converging
Scale 1:20,000,000 Earthquake Depth A'

_ C H
Km
at about 80 mm/yr. 36
0 500 1,000 0 - 69
80 70 60 50
70 - 299 Concepcion ARGENTINA

R U
Arequipa Goiania
La Paz Cochabamba 300 - 700
Depth Profile
Tacna Oruro 1953
Santa Cruz
Great Rupture

P E
Sucre de La
Potosi Sierra Campo
Iquique Grande Year CHILE A
Distance (km)
20
1960 38
-200 -100 0 100 200 300 400
A'
Tarija Area
Pedro Juan 1962
20
Caballero 1960
Active Volcanoes
1975
Antofagasta San Salvador
De Jujuy 1960
38
Salta
Asuncion 0 0
Curitiba Temuco Neuquen

Depth (km)
San Miguel Formosa Puerto
De Tucuman Presidente
Resistencia Encarnacion Stroessner
Copiapo Santiago Florianopolis

Seismic Hazard
Corrientes Posadas
Catamarca Del Estero

La Rioja Porto
La Serena Alegre 78 76 74 72 70 68 -100 -100
Coquimbo 30
EPICENTRAL Cordoba Rivera
San Juan Santa Fe Salto Note on earthquakes: From 1900 - 1963, earthquakes Scale 1:4,000,000
REGION Parana shown are from Centennial Catalog, magnitudes
30
Rosario
Paysandu greater than 5.5. From 1964 - 2002, earthquakes are Kilometers
Mendoza from HDF catalog, magnitudes greater than 4.5.
Valparaiso 0 100 200 400
Santiago San Luis Buenos From 2003 to present, earthquakes are from NEIC,
Scale 1:20,000,000 magnitudes greater than 4.5.
Aires La Plata -200 -200
Km
Talca Montevideo
0 200 400 600
Concepcion TECTONIC SUMMARY
-200 -100 0 100 200 300 400
Bahia Significant Earthquakes Mag >= 7.5
Blanca
Temuco Neuquen This earthquake occurred at the boundary between the Approximately 870 km to the north of the February 27
Nazca and South American tectonic plates. The two earthquake is the source region of the magnitude 8.5 Year Mon Day Time Lat Long Dep Mag
40 Peak Ground plates are converging at a rate of 80 mm per year. The earthquake of November, 1922. This great quake 1906 08 17 0040 -33.000 -72.000 0 8.2

Acceleration
Puerto 1914 01 30 0336 -35.000 -73.000 0 7.5
Montt earthquake occurred as thrust-faulting on the interface significantly impacted central Chile, killing several 1928 12 01 0406 -35.086 -71.683 35 7.7
between the two plates, with the Nazca plate moving hundred people and causing severe property damage.
40 m/sec**2 down and landward below the South American plate. The 1922 quake generated a 9-meter local tsunami that
1939 01 25
1943 04 06
0332
1607
-36.200
-30.750
-72.200
-72.000
0
0
7.7
8.2
inundated the Chile coast near the town of Coquimbo; 1953 05 06 1716 -37.254 -72.920 68.4 7.5 DATA SOURCES
Comodoro
.2 Coastal Chile has a history of very large earthquakes. the tsunami also crossed the Pacific, washing away 1960 05 21 1002 -37.872 -73.243 35 8.2
EARTHQUAKES AND SEISMIC HAZARD
Rivadavia .4 Since 1973, there have been 13 events of magnitude 7.0 boats in Hilo harbor, Hawaii. The magnitude 8.8 1960 05 22 1856 -38.147 -72.984 35 7.9
USGS, National Earthquake Information Center REFERENCES
.8 or greater. The February 27 shock originated about 230 earthquake of February 27, 2010 ruptured the portion of 1960 05 22 1911 -38.235 -73.047 35 9.5 NOAA, National Geophysical Data Center
km north of the source region of the magnitude 9.5 the South American subduction zone separating these 1962 02 14 0636 -38.091 -73.050 32.9 7.5 IASPEI, Centennial Catalog (1900 - 1999) and Bird, P., 2003, An updated digital model of plate boundaries:
1.6 1971 07 09 0303 -32.558 -71.085 59 7.8 extensions (Engdahl and Villaseor, 2002)
earthquake of May, 1960 the largest instrumentally two massive historical earthquakes. 1975 05 10 1427 -38.215 -72.999 28 7.7 HDF (unpublished earthquake catalog) (Engdahl, 2003)
Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., v. 4, no. 3, pp. 1027- 80.
DISCLAIMER
2.4 recorded earthquake in the world. This magnitude 9.5 Global Seismic Hazard Assessment Program
1977 11 23 0926 -31.083 -67.778 18.3 7.5 Engdahl, E.R. and Villaseor, A., 2002, Global Seismicity:
Base map data, such as place names and political
50
3.2 earthquake killed 1655 people in southern Chile and A large vigorous aftershock sequence can be expected 1985 03 03 2247 -33.132 -71.708 40 8.0 1900 - 1999, chap. 41 of Lee, W.H.K., and others,eds., boundaries, are the best available but may not be
PLATE TECTONICS AND FAULT MODEL
4.0 unleashed a tsunami that crossed the Pacific, killing 61 from this earthquake. PB2002 (Bird, 2003)
International Earthquake and Engineering Seismology, current or may contain inaccuracies and therefore
Part A: New York, N.Y., Elsevier Academeic Press, 932 p. should not be regarded as having official significance.
Punta
4.8
people in Hawaii, Japan, and the Philippines.
50 Arenas BASE MAP Engdahl, E.R., Van der Hilst, R.D., and Buland, R.P., 1998, Map prepared by U.S. Geological Survey
9.8 NIMA and ESRI, Digital Chart of the World Global teleseismic earthquake relocation with improved trav- National Earthquake Information Center
USGS, EROS Data Center el times and procedures for depth determination: Bull. Seism. 1 March 2010
NOAA GEBCO and GLOBE Elevation Models Map not approved for release by Director USGS
90 80 70 60 50
Soc. Amer., v. 88, p. 722-743.