Valdivia Fracture Zone

Last updated

The Valdivia Fracture Zone (VFZ) is a transform fault zone off the coast of southern Chile which runs between the continental slope near Valdivia in Chile and the Panov Seamount crossing the Chile Ridge.

Map of the several segments of Chile Ridge which is divided by numerous transform fault zones, including Valdivia Fracture Zone. The segment numbers are shown in red words next to the ridge segments. The Chiloe Microplate is located at the east of the Chile Ridge and the Liquine-Ofqui fault zone is located between the Chiloe Microplate and the main South American Plate. Figure made with GeoMapApp (www.geomapapp.org) Chile ridge fz segments.png
Map of the several segments of Chile Ridge which is divided by numerous transform fault zones, including Valdivia Fracture Zone. The segment numbers are shown in red words next to the ridge segments. The Chiloé Microplate is located at the east of the Chile Ridge and the Liquine-Ofqui fault zone is located between the Chiloé Microplate and the main South American Plate. Figure made with GeoMapApp (www.geomapapp.org)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pedro de Valdivia</span> Spanish conquistador

Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia or Valdiva was a Spanish conquistador and the first royal governor of Chile. After serving with the Spanish army in Italy and Flanders, he was sent to South America in 1534, where he served as lieutenant under Francisco Pizarro in Peru, acting as his second in command.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1960 Valdivia earthquake</span> 9.4–9.6 magnitude earthquake in Chile

The 1960 Valdivia earthquake and tsunami or the Great Chilean earthquake on 22 May 1960 was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded. Various studies have placed it at 9.4–9.6 on the moment magnitude scale. It occurred in the afternoon, and lasted for approximately 10 minutes. The resulting tsunamis affected southern Chile, Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, eastern New Zealand, southeast Australia, and the Aleutian Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nazca Plate</span> Oceanic tectonic plate in the eastern Pacific Ocean basin

The Peru–Chile Trench, also known as the Atacama Trench, is an oceanic trench in the eastern Pacific Ocean, about 160 kilometres (99 mi) off the coast of Peru and Chile. It reaches a maximum depth of 8,065 m (26,460 ft) below sea level in Richards Deep and is approximately 5,900 km (3,666 mi) long; its mean width is 64 km (40 mi) and it covers an expanse of some 590,000 km2 (230,000 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Los Ríos Region</span> Region of Chile

The Los Ríos Region is one of Chile's 16 regions, the country's first-order administrative divisions. Its capital is Valdivia. It began to operate as a region on October 2, 2007, having been created by subdividing the Los Lagos Region in southern Chile. It consists of two provinces: Valdivia and the newly created Ranco Province, which was formerly part of Valdivia Province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valdivia Province</span> Province in Los Ríos, Chile

Valdivia Province is one of two provinces of the southern Chilean region of Los Ríos (XIV). The provincial capital is Valdivia. Located in the province are two important rivers, the Calle-Calle / Valdivia River and the Cruces River. It is part of Northern Patagonia and its wild virgin forest embrace the Patagonian Cordillera following the river Calle Calle down to the Pacific Ocean. It is known in Patagonia by the term "Bosque Valdiviano", referring to the primitive forest of Valdivia with its native trees. These forests are present in some parts of Northern Patagonia, both in Chile and Argentina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corral, Chile</span> Town and Commune in Los Ríos, Chile

Corral is a town, commune and sea port in Valdivia Province, Los Ríos Region, Chile. It is located south of Corral Bay. Corral is best known for the forts of Corral Bay, a system of defensive batteries and forts made to protect Valdivia during colonial times. Corral was the headquarters of the system. Economic activities in Corral revolve around forestry, aquaculture, fishing, port services and both heritage and eco tourism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valdivia</span> City and Commune in Los Ríos, Chile

Valdivia 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 Cau-Cau Rivers, approximately 15 km (9 mi) east of the coastal towns of Corral and Niebla. Since October 2007, Valdivia has been the capital of Los Ríos Region and is also the capital of Valdivia Province. The national census of 2017 recorded the commune of Valdivia as having 166,080 inhabitants (Valdivianos), of whom 150,048 were living in the city. The main economic activities of Valdivia include tourism, wood pulp manufacturing, forestry, metallurgy, and beer production. The city is also the home of the Austral University of Chile, founded in 1954 and the Centro de Estudios Científicos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jorge Valdivia</span> Chilean footballer (born 1983)

Jorge Luis Valdivia Toro is a Chilean national and former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault</span> Major geological fault in Northern Chile

The Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault is major geological fault that runs a length of roughly 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) in a NNE-SSW orientation and exhibits current seismicity. It is located in the Chilean Northern Patagonian Andes. It is a dextral intra-arc strike-slip fault. Most large stratovolcanoes of the Southern Volcanic Zone of the Andes are aligned by the fault which allows for the movement of magma and hydrothermal fluids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valdivian Fort System</span> Historic forts built by the Spanish Empire to defend the Chilean city of Valdivia

The Fort System of Valdivia is a series of Spanish colonial fortifications at Corral Bay, Valdivia and Cruces River established to protect the city of Valdivia, in southern Chile. During the period of Spanish rule (1645–1820), it was one of the biggest systems of fortification in the Americas. It was also a major supply source for Spanish ships that crossed the Strait of Magellan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zona Sur</span> Natural region of continental Chile

Zona Sur is one of the five natural regions on which CORFO divided continental Chile in 1950. Its northern border is formed by the Bío-Bío River, which separates it from the Central Chile Zone. The Southern Zone borders the Pacific Ocean to the west, and to the east lies the Andean mountains and Argentina. Its southern border is the Chacao Channel, which forms the boundary with the Austral Zone. While the Chiloé Archipelago belongs geographically to the Austral Zone in terms of culture and history, it lies closer to the Southern Zone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alerce Costero National Park</span>

Alerce Costero National Park is a protected wild area in the Cordillera Pelada about 137 km from Valdivia and 49 km from La Unión. Fitzroya trees grow inside the protected area and give the area its name, with Alerce Costero translating as Coastal Fitzroya. The Natural Monument has a total area of 137 hectares.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conquest of Chile</span> Period of Chilean history, 1541-1600, period of Spanish conquest

The Conquest of Chile is a period in Chilean historiography that starts with the arrival of Pedro de Valdivia to Chile in 1541 and ends with the death of Martín García Óñez de Loyola in the Battle of Curalaba in 1598, and the destruction of the Seven Cities in 1598–1604 in the Araucanía region.

The 1995 Antofagasta earthquake occurred on July 30 at 05:11 UTC with a moment magnitude of 8.0 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII. The Antofagasta Region in Chile was affected by a moderate tsunami, with three people killed, 58 or 59 injured, and around 600 homeless. Total damage from the earthquake and tsunami amounted to $1.791 million.

The 1837 Valdivia earthquake struck south-central Chile on November 7. Together with earthquakes in 1575 and 1737 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 and Ancud. The earthquake was also felt by the crew whaling ships in Guafo Island and Chonos Archipelago. 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 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, what is now French Polynesia, and Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mocha-Villarrica Fault Zone</span> Geological fault zone in Chile and Argentina

The Mocha-Villarrica Fault Zone is a northwest-trending geological fault zone in southern Chile and Argentina. The fault zone runs from Mocha Island in the Pacific to the Andes where it aligns Villarrica, Quetrupillán and Lanín volcanoes. It is one of several fault zones that traverses the north-south Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault.

The Huilliche uprising of 1792 was an indigenous uprising against the Spanish penetration into Futahuillimapu, territory in southern Chile that had been de facto free of Spanish rule since 1602. The first part of the conflict was a series of Huilliche attacks on Spanish settlers and the mission in the frontier next to Bueno River. Following this a militia in charge of Tomás de Figueroa departed from Valdivia ravaging Huilliche territory in a quest to subdue anti-Spanish elements in Futahuillimapu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chile Ridge</span> Submarine oceanic ridge in the Pacific Ocean

The Chile Ridge, also known as the Chile Rise, is a submarine oceanic ridge formed by the divergent plate boundary between the Nazca Plate and the Antarctic Plate. It extends from the triple junction of the Nazca, Pacific, and Antarctic plates to the Southern coast of Chile. The Chile Ridge is easy to recognize on the map, as the ridge is divided into several segmented fracture zones which are perpendicular to the ridge segments, showing an orthogonal shape toward the spreading direction. The total length of the ridge segments is about 550–600 km.

References

  1. Howell, Samuel M.; Ito, Garrett; Behn, Mark D.; Martinez, Fernando; Olive, Jean‐Arthur; Escartín, Javier (June 2016). "Magmatic and tectonic extension at the Chile Ridge: Evidence for mantle controls on ridge segmentation". Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems. 17 (6): 2354–2373. Bibcode:2016GGG....17.2354H. doi:10.1002/2016gc006380. hdl: 1912/8312 . ISSN   1525-2027. S2CID   53126550.