Shackleton Fracture Zone (abbreviated as SFZ) is an undersea fracture zone and fault located on Drake Passage that separates the Scotia Plate from the Antarctic Plate. The Shackleton Fracture Zone runs in a northwest to southeast direction from the South American continental shelf to the South Shetland Islands.
On January 17, 2010 a 6.3 magnitude earthquake occurred in the Drake Passage along the Shackleton Fracture Zone.[1] The hypocenter depth was estimated at 5 km. The earthquake was felt in the Cape Horn lighthouse and the Diego Ramírez Islands, which are the two closest inhabited places.
This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Geological Survey document "Shackleton Fracture Zone" (content from the Geographic Names Information System).