During April 1819, the area around
Copiapó
Copiapó () is a List of cities in Chile, city and communes of Chile, commune in northern Chile, located about 65 kilometers east of the coastal List of towns in Chile, town of Caldera, Chile, Caldera. Founded on December 8, 1744, it is the capi ...
in northern
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
was struck by a sequence of earthquakes over a period of several days. The largest of these earthquakes occurred on 11 April at about 15:00 local time, with an estimated magnitude of 8.5. The other two events, on 3 April between 08:00 and 09:00 local time and on 4 April at 16:00 local time, are interpreted as
foreshocks to the mainshock on 11 April. The mainshock triggered a
tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...
that affected 800 km of coastline and was also recorded at
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
. The city of Copiapó was devastated.
Tectonic setting
Northern Chile lies above the
destructive plate boundary where the
Nazca plate
The Nazca plate or Nasca plate, named after the Nazca region of southern Peru, is an oceanic list of tectonic plates, tectonic plate in the eastern Pacific Ocean basin off the west coast of South America. The ongoing subduction, along the Peru– ...
is being
subducted beneath the
South American plate
The South American plate is a major tectonic plate which includes the continent of South America as well as a sizable region of the Atlantic Ocean seabed extending eastward to the African plate, with which it forms the southern part of the Mid ...
along the line of
Peru–Chile Trench at about 8 cm per year.
This part of the boundary is associated with many large
megathrust earthquakes, including those in
1420 and
1922.
Earthquake sequence
The magnitudes of the two foreshocks is not known. The magnitude of the mainshock has been estimated to be 8.5.
The earthquake sequence is thought to have ruptured the same part of the plate boundary as that ruptured by the 1922 Vallenar earthquake.
Tsunami
The tsunami triggered by the 11 April mainshock affected at least 800 km of the Chilean coastline, with a maximum run-up height of 4 m and a maximum inundation of 600 m. Places affected included
Huasco,
Caldera
A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the str ...
, and
Concepción. Caldera suffered significant damage and at Concepción the
schooner
A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...
''La Fortuna'' broke free from its moorings. The tsunami was also recorded in the
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...
at
Honolulu
Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...
,
Hilo,
Kahului and
Molokai. It may also have been observed at
Mangareva
Mangareva is the central and largest island of the Gambier Islands in French Polynesia. It is surrounded by smaller islands: Taravai in the southwest, Aukena and Akamaru in the southeast, and islands in the north. Mangareva has a permanent p ...
in
French Polynesia
French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. The t ...
.
Impact
The earthquake sequence caused major damage in both Copiapó and
Vallenar.
The 3 April foreshock led to widespread damage in Copiapó. The 4 April foreshock caused the collapse of several buildings in the city including a church, killing "many people".
The effects of the mainshock on 11 April and its associated tsunami, combined with those of the foreshocks was the complete destruction of Copiapó and Caldera.
See also
*
List of historical earthquakes
*
List of earthquakes in Chile
__NOTOC__
Chile lies in a region which is adjacent to the fast-moving Nazca plate, and has high tectonic activity. The records for earlier centuries are apparently incomplete.
Of the Lists of earthquakes#Strongest earthquakes by magnitude, worl ...
References
{{Earthquakes in Chile
Earthquakes in Chile
1819 earthquakes
1819 in Chile
1819 disasters in Chile