biggest earthquakes

Biggest Earthquakes In History

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Here are the 10 biggest earthquakes ever recorded

Biggest Earthquakes – In the history of humankind, these are the most devastating earthquakes ever recorded.

Cascadia Megathrust of 1700 – Northern California to British Columbia

  • January 26, 1700, at 9 p.m. Pacific Time
  • Estimated to have a magnitude at or above 9 by modern seismologists
  • It was classified as megathrust quake, which happens when one tectonic plate thrusts underneath another, pushing down into Earth’s mantle.
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Lisbon Earthquake of 1755 – Portugal

  • The morning of November 1, 1755
  • Estimated 8.5 to 9.2 magnitude megathrust quake
  • It generated a tsunami with waves 20 feet high in Lisbon and 65 feet high in parts of Spain

New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811-1812 – Mississippi Valley

  • December 15, 1811
  • Magnitude as high as 8.8
  • The previously unknown fault line of the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ) was found to run 150 miles from Arkansas to Illinois

Ecuador-Colombia Earthquake of 1906 – Northwest South America

  • January 31, 1906
  • It spanned 300 to 370 miles which caused a 16-foot tsunami and affected areas as far away as Hawaii, Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico, California, and Japan.
  • The death toll was estimated to be between 500 and 1500 people

Kamchatka Earthquake of 1952 – Russia

  • November 4, 1952
  • Registered a 9-magnitude
  • Produced waves as high as 50 feet

Valdivia Earthquake of 1960 – Chile

  • May 22, 1960
  • Dubbed as the Great Chilean Earthquake, the strongest earthquake ever recorded
  •  9.5-magnitude quake
  • The rupture zone ran for 300 to 600 miles along the Chilean coast.

Good Friday Earthquake of 1964 – Alaska

  • March 27, 1964
  • With a magnitude of 9.2
  • The death toll was 124 of the 139 total victims.

Indian Ocean Earthquake of 2004 – Sumatra and Andaman Islands

  • December 26, 2004
  • It was a 9.1-magnitude megathrust
  • A 167-foot wave hit the northern coast of Sumatra in 20 minutes after the quake

Maule Earthquake of 2010 – Chile

  • February 27, 2010
  • It was a massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake
  • The quake killed about 570 people and the coastal towns were swept by 100-foot waves

Tohoku Earthquake of 2011 – Japan

  • March 11, 2011
  • It was a 9.1-magnitude megathrust earthquake
  • A tsunami with wave reaching 130 feet high crushed the coastline

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