Magnitude 7.1 - ARAUCANIA, CHILE (original) (raw)
Earthquake Details
- This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.
| Magnitude | 7.1 |
|---|---|
| Date-Time | Sunday, January 02, 2011 at 20:20:18 UTCSunday, January 02, 2011 at 05:20:18 PM at epicenterTime of Earthquake in other Time Zones |
| Location | 38.354°S, 73.275°W |
| Depth | 25.1 km (15.6 miles) |
| Region | ARAUCANIA, CHILE |
| Distances | 70 km (45 miles) NW of Temuco, Araucania, Chile90 km (55 miles) SSE of Lebu, Bio-Bio, Chile130 km (80 miles) SW of Los Angeles, Bio-Bio, Chile595 km (370 miles) SSW of SANTIAGO, Region Metropolitana, Chile |
| Location Uncertainty | horizontal +/- 13 km (8.1 miles); depth +/- 0.5 km (0.3 miles) |
| Parameters | NST=407, Nph=411, Dmin=352.9 km, Rmss=1.13 sec, Gp= 22°,M-type="moment" magnitude from initial P wave (tsuboi method) (Mi/Mwp), Version=G |
| Source | USGS NEIC (WDCS-D) |
| Event ID | usc0000y49 |
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Earthquake Summary
Tectonic Summary
The January 2nd 2011 Araucania, Chile earthquake occurred as a result of shallow thrust faulting on or near the subduction interface between the Nazca and South America tectonic plates. At the location of this event, the Nazca plate moves east-northeastwards with respect to South America at a rate of approximately 74 mm/yr. The Nazca plate, oceanic in origin, subducts beneath the South America plate at a shallow angle along the Peru-Chile trench, and is seismically active to depths of approximately 200 km near the epicenter of today's earthquake, through further north seismicity continues to depths exceeding 600 km.
The January 2nd 2011 earthquake occurred at the southern end of the aftershock region of the Mw 8.8 megathrust earthquake of February 27, 2010, and can also be considered an aftershock of that event. The subduction zone between the Nazca and South America plates has a long history of large megathrust earthquakes, including the largest ever recorded event, an M9.5 shock in 1960, which ruptured a fault mostly to the south of today's earthquake.
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Tsunami Information
The earthquake locations and magnitudes cited in NOAA tsunami statements and bulletins are preliminary and are superseded by USGS locations and magnitudes computed using more extensive data sets.