The 1837 Valdivia earthquake struck south-central Chile on November 7. Together with earthquakes in

1575 Year 1575 ( MDLXXV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 21 – Queen Elizabeth I of England grants a monopoly on producing printed sheet music, to Thomas Tallis and Will ...

and

1737 Events January–March * January 5 – Spain and the Holy Roman Empire sign instruments of cession at Pontremoli in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in Italy, with the Empire receiving control of Tuscany and the Grand Duchy of Parm ...

the earthquake is among the historical predecessors to the great 1960 earthquake. The rupture zone was roughly from Valdivia to the south. It was felt in the cities of Concepción,

Valdivia Valdivia (; Mapuche: Ainil) is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder, Pedro de Valdivia, and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia, and ...

and

Ancud Ancud () is a city in southern Chile located in the northernmost part of the island and province of Chiloé, in Los Lagos Region. It is the second largest city of Chiloé Archipelago after Castro. The city was established in 1768 to function as ...

. The earthquake was also felt by the crew whaling ships in Guafo Island and

Chonos Archipelago The Chonos Archipelago is a series of low, mountainous, elongated islands with deep bays, traces of a submerged Chilean Coast Range. Most of the islands are forested with little or no human settlement. The deep Moraleda Channel separates the isl ...

. Various landslides were triggered in Chiloé and people are reported to have been thrown to the ground in Valdivia. In contrast in Concepción the shakings were moderate. As reported in various coastal localities the ground rose as result of the earthquake. Decades later while surveying southern Chile's coasts

Francisco Vidal Gormaz Francisco Vidal Gormaz (July 1, 1837 in Santiago, Chile – February 5, 1907) was a Chilean naval officer and hydrographer who explored the coasts of Chile including some river systems and lakes. During the 1850s he explored and surveyed several t ...

was told of islands that been submerged and some that had emerged as a consequence of the earthquake. The earthquake caused a tsunami that struck

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 ...

, what is now

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 ...

, and Japan. At

Hilo, Hawaii Hilo () is the largest settlement in and the county seat of Hawaii County, Hawaiʻi, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaiʻi, and is a census-designated place (CDP). The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. I ...

, the tsunami destroyed 66 houses and caused the deaths of 14 inhabitants. In Japan the tsunami flooded

rice field Wendel D. Ley Track and Holloway Field is a stadium in Houston, Texas. It is primarily used for track and field and soccer for the Rice University Owls. It is bounded by Main Street (southeast), University Boulevard (southwest), Reckling Pa ...

s, destroyed salmon traps and broke into

salt evaporation pond A salt evaporation pond is a shallow artificial salt pan designed to extract salts from sea water or other brines. The salt pans are shallow and expansive, allowing sunlight to penetrate and reach the seawater. Natural salt pans are formed thr ...

s causing significant economic losses.

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References

Megathrust earthquakes in Chile Valdivia earthquake Valdivia earthquake History of Los Ríos Region History of Chiloé 19th-century tsunamis 1837 natural disasters Tsunamis in Chile Tsunamis in Japan Tsunamis in the United States November 1837 1837 disasters in Chile {{SouthAm-earthquake-stub

See also

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