1687 Peru earthquake

1687 Peru earthquake
Date October 20, 1687 (1687-10-20)
Magnitude 8.7 Mw
Epicenter 15°12′S 75°54′W / 15.2°S 75.9°W / -15.2; -75.9Coordinates: 15°12′S 75°54′W / 15.2°S 75.9°W / -15.2; -75.9[1]
Areas affected Peru
Tsunami Yes
Casualties 5,000

The 1687 Peru earthquake occurred at 11:30 UTC on October 20. It had an estimated magnitude of 8.4–8.7 and caused severe damage to Lima, Callao and Ica. It triggered a tsunami and overall about 5,000 people died.

Tectonic setting

The earthquake occurred along the boundary between the Nazca Plate and the South American Plate. The earthquake is likely to be a result of thrust faulting, caused by the subduction of the Nazca plate beneath the South American plate.

The coastal parts of Peru and Chile have a history of great megathrust earthquakes originating from this plate boundary, such as the 1960 Valdivia earthquake.

Damage

The port of Pisco was completely destroyed by the tsunami, with at least three ships being swept over the remains of the town.[2]

Characteristics

The earthquake was probably followed by another large event further to the south.[2] A magnitude of 8.7 has been estimated from tsunami runup heights and by comparison with the earthquake of 1974.[3]

The tsunami was reported in Japan where it produced runups of 10s of metres.[2]

Economic impact

Chile has a history of exporting cereals to Peru dating back to 1687 when Peru was struck by both an earthquake and a stem rust epidemic.[4] Chilean soil and climatic conditions were better for cereal production than those of Peru and Chilean wheat was cheaper and of better quality than Peruvian wheat.[4][5] According to historians Villalobos et al. the 1687 events were only the detonant factor for exports to start.[4]

In the 16th and 17th century the principal wine growing area of the Americas was in the central and southern coast of Peru.[6] In Peru the largest wine-making centre was in the area of Ica and Pisco.[6] The earthquake destroyed wine cellars and mud containers used for wine storage.[7] This event marked the end of the Peruvian wine-boom.[8]

References

  1. ↑ IISEE. "Catalog of Damaging Earthquakes in the World (Through 2007)". Archived from the original on 6 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-01.
  2. 1 2 3 Okal, E.A.; Borrero J.C. & Synolakis C.E. (2006). "Evaluation of Tsunami Risk from Regional Earthquakes at Pisco, Peru" (PDF). Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 96 (5): 1634–1648. Bibcode:2006BuSSA..96.1634O. doi:10.1785/0120050158. Retrieved 2010-03-01.
  3. ↑ Beck, S.L.; Nishenko S.P. (1990). "Variations in the mode of great earthquake rupture along the central Peru subduction zone". Geophysical Research Letters 17 (11): 1969–1972. Bibcode:1990GeoRL..17.1969B. doi:10.1029/GL017i011p01969.
  4. 1 2 3 (Spanish) Villalobos, Sergio; Silva, Osvaldo; Silva, Fernando and Estelle, Patricio. 1974. Historia de Chile. Editorial Universitaria, Chile. p 155-160.
  5. ↑ Collier, Simon and Sater, William F. 2004. A History of Chile: 1808-2002 Cambridge University Press. p. 10.
  6. 1 2 Huertas Vallejos, Lorenzo. 2004. Historia de la producción de vinos y piscos en el Perú
  7. ↑ La vid y el vino en América del Sur: el desplazamiento de los polos vitivinícolas (siglos XVI al XX)
  8. ↑ El origen, producción y comercio del pisco chileno, 1546-1931
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