Chilean Earthquake and Tsunami

There was a earthquake on February 27 at 06:34:14 UTC with magnitude 8.8 off of the Chilean coast at Maule, Chile.

The depth of the earthquake was 35 km, at the boundary between the Nazca and South American tectonic plates, at geographic coordinates 36.1 south and 72.6 west. The Nazca plate is subducting and moving landward beneath the South American plate, and has generated a tsunami of up to 2.35 m (7.7 ft) as measured in Talcahuano, Chile. A tsunami warning was issued by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Pacific Tsunami Warning Center for the entire Pacific basin. Chile has experienced many major earthquakes in the past, as a result of its proximity to this active tectonic region. For background information about these topics, please visit related pages on Windows to the Universe at plate tectonics, earthquakes, and tsunamis.


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