What is Megathrust Earthquake?

Information about Megathrust Earthquake

A megathrust earthquake is an interplate earthquake where one tectonic plate slips beneath (subducts) another. Due to the size of the tectonic plates and the shallow dip of the plate boundary, these earthquakes are among the world's largest, with moment magnitudes that can exceed 9.0.

For the most part they occur in the Pacific and Indian Oceans and are connected to the Ring of Fire. Since these earthquakes deform the ocean floor, they almost always generate a significant tsunami.

All five earthquakes since 1900 of magnitude 9 or greater have been megathrust earthquakes.

Some examples of megathrust earthquakes are:

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An interplate earthquake is an earthquake that occurs at the boundary between two tectonic plates. If one plate is trying to move past the other, they will be locked until sufficient stress builds up to cause the plates to slip relative to each other.
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Plate tectonics (from Greek τέκτων, tektōn "builder" or "mason") is a theory of geology that has been developed to explain the observed evidence for large scale motions of the Earth's lithosphere.
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subduction zone is an area on Earth where two tectonic plates meet and move towards one another, with one sliding underneath the other and moving down into the mantle, at rates typically measured in centimeters per year.
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Strike and dip refer to the orientation or attitude of a geologic feature. The strike of a stratum or planar feature is a line representing the intersection of that feature with the horizontal.
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The moment magnitude scale was introduced in 1979 by Thomas C. Hanks and Hiroo Kanamori as a successor to the Richter scale and is used by seismologists to compare the energy released by earthquakes.
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Earth's oceans
(World Ocean)
  • Arctic Ocean
  • Atlantic Ocean
  • Indian Ocean
  • Pacific Ocean
  • Southern Ocean


The Pacific Ocean (from the Latin name Mare Pacificum
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Earth's oceans
(World Ocean)
  • Arctic Ocean
  • Atlantic Ocean
  • Indian Ocean
  • Pacific Ocean
  • Southern Ocean
This article is about the water body. For the Indian fusion music band, see Indian Ocean (band).

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Pacific Ring of Fire is an area of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions encircling the basin of the Pacific Ocean. In a 40,000 km horseshoe shape, it is associated with a nearly continuous series of oceanic trenches, volcanic arcs, and volcanic belts and/or plate
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tsunami (IPA: /(t)sʊˈnɑːmi/) is a series of waves created when a body of water, such as an ocean, is rapidly displaced.
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19th century - 20th century
1870s  1880s  1890s  - 1900s -  1910s  1920s  1930s
1897 1898 1899 - 1900 - 1901 1902 1903

Year 1900 (MCM
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16th century - 17th century - 18th century
1670s  1680s  1690s  - 1700s -  1710s  1720s  1730s
1697 1698 1699 - 1700 - 1701 1702 1703

:
Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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1700 Cascadia Earthquake was a magnitude 8.7 – 9.2 megathrust earthquake that occurred in the Cascadia subduction zone in 1700. The earthquake involved the Juan de Fuca Plate underlying the Pacific ocean, from mid-Vancouver Island in southwest Canada off British Columbia to
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The Juan de Fuca Plate, named after the explorer, is a tectonic plate arising from the Juan de Fuca Ridge, and subducting under the northerly portion of the western side of the North American Plate.
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North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, extending eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and westward to the Cherskiy Range in East Siberia.
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17th century - 18th century - 19th century
1700s  1710s  1720s  - 1730s -  1740s  1750s  1760s
1734 1735 1736 - 1737 - 1738 1739 1740

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Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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The Kamchatka earthquakes were a pair of megathrust earthquakes occurring off the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula, in Russia on October 16, 1737, and on November 4, 1952, with resulting tsunamis following.
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Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean.

To the north the easterly side is a divergent boundary with the Explorer Plate, the Juan de Fuca Plate and the Gorda Plate forming respectively the Explorer Ridge, the Juan de Fuca Ridge and the Gorda
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The Okhotsk Plate is a continental tectonic plate covering the Sea of Okhotsk, the Kamchatka Peninsula, and Eastern Japan. It was considered a part of the North American Plate, but recent studies show that it is an independent plate.
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1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon Earthquake, took place on November 1, 1755, at 9:40 in the morning. It was one of the most destructive and deadly earthquakes in history, killing between 60,000 and 100,000 people (though the exact number is uncertain).
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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1920s  1930s  1940s  - 1950s -  1960s  1970s  1980s
1949 1950 1951 - 1952 - 1953 1954 1955

Year 1952 (MCMLII
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The Kamchatka earthquakes were a pair of megathrust earthquakes occurring off the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula, in Russia on October 16, 1737, and on November 4, 1952, with resulting tsunamis following.
..... Read more.
Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean.

To the north the easterly side is a divergent boundary with the Explorer Plate, the Juan de Fuca Plate and the Gorda Plate forming respectively the Explorer Ridge, the Juan de Fuca Ridge and the Gorda
..... Read more.
The Okhotsk Plate is a continental tectonic plate covering the Sea of Okhotsk, the Kamchatka Peninsula, and Eastern Japan. It was considered a part of the North American Plate, but recent studies show that it is an independent plate.
..... Read more.
19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1920s  1930s  1940s  - 1950s -  1960s  1970s  1980s
1954 1955 1956 - 1957 - 1958 1959 1960

Year 1957 (MCMLVII
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The 1957 Andreanof Islands Earthquake was a magnitude 9.1 megathrust earthquake that took place on March 9, 1957. It was centered at , south of the Andreanof Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in the U.S. state of Alaska.
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Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean.

To the north the easterly side is a divergent boundary with the Explorer Plate, the Juan de Fuca Plate and the Gorda Plate forming respectively the Explorer Ridge, the Juan de Fuca Ridge and the Gorda
..... Read more.
North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, extending eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and westward to the Cherskiy Range in East Siberia.
..... Read more.
19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1930s  1940s  1950s  - 1960s -  1970s  1980s  1990s
1957 1958 1959 - 1960 - 1961 1962 1963

Year 1960 (MCMLX
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Great Chilean Earthquake or Valdivian Earthquake (Terremoto de Valdivia in Spanish) of 22 May, 1960 is the most powerful earthquake ever recorded, rating 9.5 [1] on the Moment magnitude scale.
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Nazca Plate, named after the Nazca region of southern Peru, is an oceanic tectonic plate in the eastern Pacific Ocean basin off the west coast of South America.

The eastern margin is a convergent boundary subduction zone under the South American Plate and the Andes
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