PA C I F I C O C E A N

Lago de Nicaragua
Lago de
Maracaibo
C a r n e g i e R i d g e
A
l v a r a d
o R
i d
g
e
G r i j a l v a R i d g e
Algol Seamount
S a n t o s
P l a t e a u
A r g e n t i n e
B a s i n
F a l k l a n d E s c a r p m e n t
A r g e n t i n e R i s e
C
h
i
l e
R
i s
e
C
h
i
l
e

B
a
s
i
n
S o u t h e a s t
P a c i f i c
B a s i n
J u a n F e r n a n d e z R i d g e
PA C I F I C O C E A N
P e r u B a s i n
AT L A NT I C
OC E A N
N
a
z
c
a

R
i
d
g
e
A
l v a r a d
o R
i d
g
e
S
a r m
i e n t o R
i d g e
A
B
A'
B'
C
C' B'
D'
D
G
6
0
0
3
0
0
2
0
0
2
0
0
1
0
0
6
0
600
4
0
0
2
0
0
1
0
0
6
0
6
0
P e r u B a s i n
5
0
0
4
0
0
1
0
0
5
0
0
200
1994
1921
1970
1963
1963
Bogota
Buenos
Aires
Lima
Santa Fe
La Plata
Bucaramanga
Medellin
Manizales
Ibague
Cali
Quito
Guayaquil
Belem
Manaus
Piura
Chiclayo
Trujillo
Callao
Cuzco
Cuiaba
Brasilia
Arequipa La Paz
Goiania
Cochabamba
Santa Cruz
de La
Sierra
Campo
Grande
Sao
Paulo
Santos
Salta
Asuncion
Curitiba
San Miguel
De Tucuman
Porto
Alegre
Cordoba
Rosario
Valparaiso
Santiago
Montevideo
Concepcion
A
A'
1996
2007
2007
1918
1918
2001
1906
1908
1913
1914
1977
1928
1934
1939
1940
1942
1942
1943
1947
1953
1953
1958
1959
1960
1960
1960
1960
1962
1966
1966
1971
1974
1975
1979
1983
1983
1985
1987
1995
1996
D'
D
1906
1922
1960
2001
C
C'
B
B'
55
55
65
65
50
50
60
60
70
70
75
75
80
80
85
85
90 95 45 100
5
5
0
0
5
5
10
10
15
15
20
20
25
25
30
30
35
35
40
40
45
CARIBBEAN PLATE
SOUTH AMERICA PLATE
COCOS
PLATE
NAZCA
PLATE
BRAZIL
VENEZUELA
COLUMBIA
PERU
GUATEMALA
HONDURAS
NICARAGUA
COSTA RICA
PANAMA
BELIZE
MEXICO
JAMAICA
DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC
PUERTO
RICO
ECUADOR
GUYANA
CHILE
ARGENTINA
BOLIVIA
URUGUAY
PARAGUAY
ANTARCTIC
PLATE
SURINAME
FRENCH
GUIANA
65
58
20
79
80
80
80
79
77
73
68
60W
60W
70W
70W
80W
80W
90W 50W 100W
10N
0
0
10S
10S
20S
20S
30S
30S
40S
40S
Sei smi c Hazar d and Rel at i ve Pl at e Mot i on
FIGURE EXPLANATION
Peak Ground Acceleration
0 - 0.2 m/sec
0.2 - 0.4
0.4 - 0.8
0.8 - 1.6
1.6 - 3.2
3.2 - 6.4
6.4 - 9.8
Plate Boundaries
Subduction
Transform
Divergent
Others
Map not approved Ior release by Director USGS
5 March 2010
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
KILOMETERS
Sei smi ci t y of t he Ear t h 1900 - 2007
Nazca Pl at e and Sout h Ameri ca
1:12,000,000 Scale
SEISMICITY OF THE EARTH 1900 - 2007
OPEN FILE REPORT XXX-A
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Compi l ed by Susan Rhea, Gavi n Hayes, Antoni o Vi l l aseor,
Kevi n P. Furl ong, Tarr, A. C. , and Harl ey Benz
The South America arc extends over 7,000 km Irom the Chilean margin triple junction oIIshore oI southern
Chile, north along the western coast oI South America, to its intersection with the Panama Iracture zone oIIshore
the south coast oI Panama in Central America. It marks the plate boundary between the subducting Nazca plate
and the South America plate, the region where the oceanic crust and lithosphere oI the Nazca plate begin their
descent into the mantle beneath South America. The convergence associated with this subduction process is
responsible Ior the upliIt oI the Andes Mountains, and Ior the active volcanic chain present along much oI this
deIormation Iront. Relative to a Iixed South America plate, the Nazca plate moves slightly north oI eastwards at
a rate varying Irom approximately 80 mm/yr in the south to approximately 70 mm/yr in the north.
Subduction zones such as the South America arc are geologically complex and generate numerous earthquakes
Irom a variety oI tectonic processes that cause deIormation oI the western edge oI South America. Crustal
deIormation and subsequent mountain building in the overriding South America plate generate shallow
earthquakes. Slip along the dipping interIace between the two plates generates Irequent and oIten large interplate
earthquakes between depths oI approximately 10 and 50-60 km. Since 1900 numerous magnitude 8 or greater
earthquakes have occurred on the interIace between the Nazca and South America plates, including the 1960
M9.5 earthquake in southern Chile, the largest instrumentally recorded earthquake in the world. Earthquakes can
also be generated to depths greater than 600 km Irom internal deIormation oI the subducting Nazca plate.
Although the rate oI subduction varies little along the entire subduction zone, there are complex changes in
geologic processes along the subduction zone that dramatically inIluence volcanic activity, earthquake generation
and occurrence. For example, an extended zone oI crustal seismicity in central-northern Argentina highlight a
well-known Ilat-slab` region oI this subduction zone, where the Nazca plate moves horizontally Ior several
hundred kilometers beIore continuing its` descent into the mantle. This transition in slab structure is coincident
with a marked break in the Andes volcanic chain.
The earthquakes portrayed on the main map and the depth proIiles are taken Irom two sources: (a) the Centennial
earthquake catalog (Engdahl and Villaseor, 2002) and annual supplements Ior the interval 1900-2007, where the
magnitude Iloor is 5.5 globally and (b) a catalog oI earthquakes having high-quality depth determinations Ior the
period 1964-2002 and a magnitude range oI 5.0_M_5.4 (Engdahl, personal communication).
The nucleation points oI great earthquakes (M_8.3) are designated with a label showing the year oI occurrence.
Their rupture areas are shown as pale yellow polygons. Major earthquakes (7.5_M_8.2) are labeled with the
year oI occurrence.
The Seismic Hazard and Relative Plate Motion panel displays the generalized seismic hazard oI the region
(Giardini and others, 1999) and representative relative plate motion vectors oI the Caribbean plate relative to the
adjacent PaciIic, North and South America plates using the NUVEL-1Amodel (DeMets, et.al., 1994) and
updates (Dixon, et.al., 1998; Weber, et.al., 2001).
Pre-instrumental seismicity was obtained Irom the NOAANational Geophysical Data Center database oI
signiIicant earthquakes. This database contains inIormation on earthquake locations, source parameters and
macro-seismic eIIects Ior earthquakes with associated reports oI at least one oI the Iollowing: moderate to major
damage, 10 or more deaths, an estimated magnitude oI 7.5 or greater, ModiIied Mercalli Intensities X or tsunami
generation. Earthquake locations shown on the pre-instrumental map are approximate, based on macro-seismic
reports and Iield investigations. Earthquakes Ior which deaths are reported in the NOAAsigniIicant earthquake
database are identiIied by their year oI occurrence. More importantly, all oI the earthquakes on this map,
combined with earthquake inIormation Iound on the main map, play a role in understanding and addressing
seismic hazards in the Caribbean basin.
Base map data sources include GEBCO 2008, Volcanoes oI the World dataset (Siebert and Simkin, 2002), plate
boundaries (Bird, 2003), Digital Chart oI the World and ESRI.
TECTONIC SUMMARY
[References are listed in separate document on website]
DATASOURCES
.
ProIiles oI earthquake and volcano
locations are constructed Irom the mapped
data. Locations oI the proIile intersection
with the surIace are drawn in the map and
labeled to coincide with the proIile label.
Length oI the proIile graphic is the same
as in the map. Distance in kilometers Irom
the trench axis is indicated in the X
direction, depth in kilometers is indicated
in the Y direction. There is no vertical
exaggeration. See Explanation at side Ior
color key. Not all earth layers are visible
on every map.
Magnitude Classes
4 - 5.9
6 - 6.4
6.5 - 6.9
7 - 7.4
7.5
7.6
7.7
7.8
7.9
8.0
8.1
8.2
Depth of Focus
0 - 69 km
70 - 299 km
300 - 700 km
Nucleation Points
Quaternary Volcanoes
Earth Structure
Air
Crust
Upper Mantle
Transition Zone
Lower Mantle
PROFI LE X
TRENCH AXIS
-100 0 100 200 300 400 500 600
-700
-600
-500
-400
-300
-200
-100
0
100
DEPTH PROFILE EXPLANATION
Digital map database and cartography by Susan Rhea and Art Tarr
Digital map editing and illustration by Gayle Dumonceaux
Denver Publishing Service Center
Manuscript approved for publication Month Dy, Year
South America Albers Equal Area Projection
Any use of trade names is for descriptive purposes only
and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government
This map was produced on request, directly from
digital files, on an electronic plotter
For sale by U.S. Geological Survey Information Services
Box 25286, Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225
1-888-ASK-USGS
A PDF for this map is available at
http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/XXXX
Suggested citation:
Susan Rhea, Gavin Hayes, Antonio Villaseor,
Kevin P. Furlong, Tarr, A.C., and Harley Benz,
Seismicity of the Nazca Plate and South America:
U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report XXXX,
scale 1:12,000,000.
1894
1878
1875
1870
1797
1853
1868
1837
1822
1819
1751
1751
1730
1716
1716
1687
1619
1609
1604
1586
1575
1513
Pr e- I nst r ument al Sei smi ci t y 1500- 1899
Deat hs, t sunami , MMI 2 8, or M 2 8
M 2 8. 5 l abl ed wi t h year
MAP EXPLANATION
Magnitude Classes
4 - 5.9
6 - 6.4
6.5 - 6.9
7 - 7.4
7.5
7.6
7.7
7.8
7.9
8.0
8.1
8.2
Depth of Focus
0 - 69 km
70 - 299 km
300 - 700 km
Nucleation Points
Rupture Zones
Active Volcanoes
Plate Boundaries
Subduction
Transform
Divergent
Others
Mean Slab Depth
60
100
200
300
400
500
600
PTROFILE A
-300 -200 -100 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
-700
-600
-500
-400
-300
-200
-100
0
PROFILE B
-100 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300
-800
-700
-600
-500
-400
-300
-200
-100
0
PROFILE C
-200 -100 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
-600
-500
-400
-300
-200
-100
0
PROFILE C
-200 -100 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
-600
-500
-400
-300
-200
-100
0
PTROFILE A
-300 -200 -100 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
-700
-600
-500
-400
-300
-200
-100
0
OIIshore Maule, Chile

27 February 2010 6:34:14 UTC

35.846 S., 72.719 W.
Depth 35 km
Mw 8.8 (USGS)
200 miles southwest oI Santiago, Chile, Intensity VIII-IX
Ielt throughout the region; widespread damage. Tsunami
with wave height up to 2.5 m observed at Valpairaiso.
Over 1000 people killed.
PTROFILE A
-300 -200 -100 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
-700
-600
-500
-400
-300
-200
-100
0
PROFILE B
-100 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300
-800
-700
-600
-500
-400
-300
-200
-100
0
PROFILE C
-200 -100 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
-600
-500
-400
-300
-200
-100
0
PROFILE D
-100 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
-400
-300
-200
-100
0
Over 60 earthquakes with magnitude 8 or
larger have occurred globally since 1900.
The energy released by these earthquakes
dominates the cumulative energy release
Irom all earthquakes, with those in the
Aleutian Islands, Alaska, and the Chilean
coast contributing a large portion.
Jumps in the cummulative moment
release (bottom Iigure) occur with great
earthquakes, as shown by the 1960 Chile,
1964 Alaska, 2004 Sumatra, and 2010
Chile events. Red parallel lines indicate
no change in the rate oI energy release
between large events.
Gl obal Ear t hquakes wi t h M 2 8
and Cummul at i ve Ener gy Rel ease