resulted in fatalities mostly as the result of lahars. An earth-
quake killed some 350 people in the village of Villarrica in
1575. Guallatiri has erupted four times, most recently in
1985. Ojos del Salado is the world’s highest active volcano
at 22,560 feet (6,900 m). Other volcanoes include Sollipulli,
Tocorpuri, and La Torta.
Chilean 1960 earthquake On May 22, 1960, the largest
recorded earthquake occurred off the coast of south-central
Chile in the Arauco Peninsula. It had a surface wave magni-
tude of 9.6 and a focal depth of 21 miles (33 km). The focus
was so deep that there were no areas of extreme intensity.
Nonetheless, there were as many as 2,290 deaths and more
than $500 million in damage as a result. One of every three
houses in the nearby city of Valdivia was destroyed, and
Concepción was also heavily damaged. There were some
significant foreshocks up to a day before the great earth-
quake. The main shock lasted for more than three minutes.
aftershocks continued to knock down damaged structures
for weeks afterward and were still felt up to a year later. The
maximum intensity of the earthquakes was felt along a north-
south trend along the coast and also along the Reloncavi fault
in the Chilean lakes region. fault plane solutions indicate
that the faults largely underwent strike-slip movement.
Damage to the landscape was impressive. Literally,
thousands of sizeable landslides littered the Chilean lakes
region. Subsidence submerged thousands of acres of farmland
and uplift elevated other areas up to seven feet (2 m). In the
town of Valdivia, liquefaction resulted in the extrusion
of such vast amounts of liquefied soil that the sheer weight
depressed the land surface and caused houses to collapse. In
another town the liquefied soil flowed into a harbor and
engulfed an anchored ship. In some of the lakes, seiches
with amplitudes up to three feet (9 m) were observed. The
nearby once dormant Puyehue volcano sprung back to life a
mere 48 hours after the quake. The ash-steam cloud was shot
20,000 feet (6,000 m) into the air and similar eruptions con-
tinued for several weeks. Other volcanic activity was reported
but they turned out to be mud volcanoes with very high
sand/mud blows. They just looked like real volcanoes.
The earthquake generated huge tsunamis all over the
Pacific Ocean. The maximum wave heights are estimated
at 80 feet (25 m), and debris was found inland as far as
two miles (3 km). Coastal populations were evacuated early
because they knew that earthquakes produced tsunamis.
Unfortunately, the fourth waves were the highest and much
higher than expected. People returning to their homes because
they thought it was safe were killed, but so were many people
evacuated to lower elevations. The wave crossed the Pacific
Ocean with great energy at 400 miles per hour (690 km/hr).
When it struck Hilo, Hawaii, 14 hours after the earthquake,
the waves were still 34 ft (10.7 m). They killed 61 people,
injured 282, and did $24 million in damage there. Again, it
was the third wave that did the damage. Eight hours later,
the waves reached Japan. In converging harbors, the wave
maximum was 12 feet (4 m) and carried large fishing boats
as much as 150 feet (46 m) inland. It killed 180 people there,
did $450 million in property damage, and destroyed the
homes and/or livelihoods of some 150,000 Japanese citizens.
Some grisly stories emerged from this Chilean earthquake
and the tsunami associated with it, including a report of the
murder of a six-year-old boy whose heart was torn from his
body and offered as a sacrifice to the imagined gods of the sea
by the Mapuche Indians. More than 100,000 Chileans were
left homeless following this earthquake, and in some areas,
the army had to disperse crowds rioting for food.
Chillán earthquake, Chile On January 25, 1939, at 3:30
a.m., a massive earthquake struck the region around the
city of Chillán, Chile, with devastating effects. The magni-
tude of the quake registered 8.3 on the Richter scale, with
a duration of nearly three minutes. It produced damage of
X on the modified Mercalli scale. The area of damage was
over 40,000 square miles (103,500 km
2
). Chile is above the
Andean subduction zone but is in an area of extensive
uplift relative to its surroundings. As a result, it is likely the
most seismically active area in South America.
The death toll from this event is debatable. It was at
least 28,000, but most sources claim that it was more like
50,000 people—with the majority children. In any event, it
was one of the worst in South American history. Another
60,000 people are said to have been injured, and 700,000
were rendered homeless. In the 140 city blocks of Chillán,
only three buildings were left standing. In nearby Concep-
ción, 70% of the buildings were destroyed. The cost of the
tragedy was about $100 million, and Chile was forced to
borrow money to rebuild. Chileans rebuilt using much better
construction standards, and a middle class was established as
a result. Chile actually improved its earthquake preparedness
as the result of this tragedy and prevented subsequent earth-
quakes from causing as much damage and loss of life.
China China’s history of destructive earthquakes is almost
as long as its history. A partial list of seismic disasters in
China includes a 1556 earthquake said to have taken more
than 800,000 lives, another quake in 1920 that is believed to
have killed almost 200,000, and in 1976, the great Tangshan
earthquake that is supposed to have killed some 655,000.
China’s susceptibility to earthquakes has two sources. One is
the northward movement of the Indian crustal plate, which
collides with China in the vicinity of the Himalaya Moun-
tains in the south. The other is the existence of the “Ring
of Fire,” the circum-Pacific belt of intense earthquake and
volcanic activity, just to the east of China. seismology is
believed to have originated in China, and the Chinese have
expended considerable time and effort studying the problem
of quake prediction. (See Kansu.)
China also has several volcanoes. Baitoushan lies along
the Korean border and in a.d. 1060 produced one of the larg-
est volcanic eruptions in the last 10,000 years. The Wudalian-
chi volcanic field in eastern China has also produced historic
eruptions.
Chios earthquake, Greece A major earthquake struck the
island of Chios, Greece, in the Aegean Sea off the coast of
Turkey at 11:40 a.m. on April 3, 1881. The modified Mer-
calli intensity of the event was IX through most of the
island, and it had an estimated Richter magnitude of 6.5.
Chios 49