9621 Agnes Crossing, Lake Suzanneview, New Mexico Island 84604-9295.
It occurred in Atacama, a coastal region of Chile, according to research. (Reference image). PHOTO: iStock Recent archaeological evidence indicates that an earthquake measuring 9.5 degrees on the
Recent archaeological evidence indicates that an earthquake measuring 9.5 degrees on the Richter scale occurred in Atacama, a coastal region of Chile, and nearly its entire population disappeared.
The new discovery came about when a team of archaeologists from the University of Chile visited the Atacama desert to study coastal sediments found along the coast – the land located between the highest and lowest tides.
However, using radiocarbon dating, a method that uses carbon to determine the age of materials containing this element, they were able to realize that the sediments had not existed for more than 3,800 years, meaning the geography in the area was affected. with a tectonic event
Research published by academics U. de Chile in the journal “Science Advances” shows that after a 9.5 magnitude earthquake, a tsunami devastated residents of the Atacama Desert coast 3,800 years ago https://t.co/4MoLghY8EV pic.twitter.com/mr6V6w1CGf
– University of Chile (@uchile) April 7, 2022
Atacama had a fishing population that exploited the region’s marine resources. The constructions were very close to the coast and since we are talking more than 3,000 years ago, there were no earthquake resistant structures.
According to mathematical models run by the University of Chile, the seismic movement was about 9.6 degrees on the Richter scale, making it the world’s most severe earthquake.
According to scientists’ estimates, a break in the coast exceeding 1,000 kilometers – a little more than the distance separating Bogotá and Barranquilla – occurred, causing the existing houses in this gap to be swallowed up for land.
In addition, the earthquake caused a tsunami that was at least 20 meters high, according to research, and catastrophically swept the residents, leaving those left behind almost seven meters underwater. in his way.
Interestingly, the only comparable earthquake occurred years later in the same area, in 1960, when a 9.3-magnitude earthquake struck the Chilean city of Valdivia, which then caused a tsunami of the same magnitude as the previous one.
The next day, another earthquake occurred in the same area, which finished demolishing damaged buildings.
And on Sunday, May 22, at exactly 15:11… ⬇️– TellingHistory (@tellinghisto1) 22 May 2020
The consequences of this were disastrous in every way. People’s lives, knowledge and culture were irreparable.
Survivors of this tragedy began to settle in higher areas and hid in the mountains for years, so the culture of everything that surrounds them, even their possible language, is lost in history, according to what the University of Chile can find from cemetery traces carried further from the coast.
In addition, terrestrial changes in the region are also important. Currently, this place is completely uninhabited, even tourists, due to the sinking of the ground, so there is not much biodiversity.
Chile is currently known as one of the countries with the highest seismic activity. But archaeologists are concerned about the tension between the reflected tectonic plates in small or not so small earthquakes that occur constantly in the country.
The problem is that as the plates slide under each other, there will come a time when they will inevitably bounce off and diverge, which could cause the worst earthquake the world has ever seen, with consequences not just for Chile but for many of the Pacific. coastal countries and their environs.
Source: El Nacional
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