M7.

8 Coastal Ecuador Earthquake of 16 April 2016

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

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58 mm/yr

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Main Shock

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7.
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70-299
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Peru

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Transform

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Guayaquil

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0-69

Diverg ent

Epicentral Region

0.371 N., 79.94 W.

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Depth!
(19.2 km
Mw = 7.8 (USGS)

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( 16 April 2016 23:58:37 UTC

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Sub d uc t
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M7.8 Coastal Ecuador Earthquake of 16 April 2016

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Plate Boundaries
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Did You Feel It?

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Ecuador
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Earthquake Depth (km)

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Earthquake Magnitude

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EXPLANATION

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85

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Seismic Hazard

Pacific
Ocean

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1,
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1,
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SOUTH AMERICA
PLATE

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Colombia

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Cali

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68 mm/yr
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NAZCA
PLATE

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20 mm/yr

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COCOS
PLATE

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Diverg ent

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PAGER

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CARIBBEAN
PLATE

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Caribbean
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TECTONI
CSUMMARY
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Th eApril16,2016M 7.
8eart
h quake,offsh oreof t
h ewestc oastof nort
h ern Ec uad or,oc c urred as t
h eresultof sh allowt
h rustfault
ing on or near t
h eplat
eb ound aryb et
ween t
h eNaz
c aand P ac ific plat
es.
Att
he
loc at
ion of t
h eeart
h quake,t
h eNaz
c aplat
esub d uc t
s east
ward b eneat
h t
h eSout
h Am eric aplat
eataveloc it
yof 61m m /
y
r.Th eloc at
ion and m ec h anism of t
h eeart
h quakearec onsist
entwit
h slip on t
h eprim aryplat
e
b ound aryint
erfac e,or m eg at
h rust
,b et
ween t
h eset
wo m ajor plat
es.Sub d uc t
ion along t
h eEc uad or Trenc h t
ot
h ewestof Ec uad or,and t
h eP eruCh ileTrenc h furt
h er sout
h ,h as led t
o upliftof t
h eAnd es m ount
ain
rang eand h as prod uc ed som eof t
h elarg esteart
h quakes in t
h eworld ,inc lud ing t
h elarg esteart
h quakeon rec ord ,t
h e1960M 9.
5eart
h quakein sout
h ern Ch ile.
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Wh ilec om m onlyplot
t
ed as point
s on m aps,eart
h quakes of t
h is siz
earem oreappropriat
elyd esc rib ed as slip over alarg er faultarea.Event
s of t
h esiz
eof t
h eApril16,2016eart
h quakearet
y
pic allyab out160x60km
in siz
e(
leng t
h x wid t
h)
.
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65
Kilom et
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500

1,
000

1,
500

P eak Ground Ac c elerat

ion in m /
sec *
*
2

Ec uad or h as ah ist
oryof larg esub d uc t
ion z
onerelat
ed eart
h quakes.Seven m ag nit
ud e7or g reat
er eart
h quakes h aveoc c urred wit
h in 250km of t
h is eventsinc e1900.On May14t
h ,1942,aM 7.
8eart
h quake
oc c urred 43km sout
h of t
h is April16t
h ,2016event
.On J
anuary31st
,1906aM 8.
3eart
h quake(
report
ed lyas larg eas M 8.
8in som esourc es)nuc leat
ed on t
h esub d uc t
ion z
oneint
erfac e90km t
ot
h enort
h eastof t
he
April2016event
,and rupt
ured over aleng t
h of approxim at
ely400500km ,result
ing in ad am ag ing t
sunam i t
h atc aused in t
h ereg ion of 5001,
500fat
alit
ies.Th eApril2016eart
h quakeis att
h esout
h ern end of t
he
approxim at
erupt
ureareaof t
h e1906event
.
Ash allow,upper c rust
alM 7.
2eart
h quake240km eastof t
h eApril2016eventon Marc h 6t
h ,1987result
ed in approxim at
ely1,
000fat
alit
ies.
#

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Seismic hazard is expressed as peak

ground acceleration (PGA) on firm
rock, in meters/sec, expected to be
exceeded in a 50-yr period with a
probability of 10 percent.

.
4

.
8

1.
6

2.
4

3.
2

4.
0

4.
8

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2

Prepared in cooperation with the

Global Seismographic Network

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EXPLANATION

Tectonic Setting

EARTHQUAKE SUMMARY MAP

DATA SOURCES

REFERENCES

EARTHQUAKES AND SEISMIC HAZARD

USGS, National Earthquake Information Center
NOAA, National Geophysical Data Center
IASPEI, Centennial Catalog (1900 - 1999) and
extensions (Engdahl and Villaseor, 2002)
EHB catalog (Engdahl et al., 1998)
HDF (unpublished earthquake catalog, Engdahl, 2003)
Global Seismic Hazard Assessment Program
Volcanoes of the World (Siebert and Simkin, 2002)

Bird, P., 2003, An updated digital model of plate

boundaries: Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., v. 4,
no. 3, pp. 1027-80.

PLATE TECTONICS AND FAULT MODEL

PB2002 (Bird, 2003)
Ji, C., D.J. Wald, and D.V. Helmberger, Source description
of the 1999 Hector Mine, California earthquake; Part I: Wavelet
domain inversion theory and resolution analysis, Bull. Seism.
Soc. Am., Vol 92, No. 4. pp. 1192-1207, 2002.
DeMets, C., Gordon, R.G., Argus, D.F., 2010.
Geologically current plate motions, Geophys. J. Int. 181, 1-80.

Engdahl, E.R., Van der Hilst, R.D., and Buland, R.P.,

1998, Global teleseismic earthquake relocation with
improved travel times and procedures for depth
determination;Bull. Seism. Soc. Amer., v. 88, p. 722-743.

BASE MAP
NIMA and ESRI, Digital Chart of the World
USGS, EROS Data Center
NOAA GEBCO and GLOBE Elevation Models

Engdahl, E.R., and Villasenor, A., 2002, Global

Seismicity: 1900-1999, chap. 41 of Lee, W.H.K.,
and others, eds., International Earthquake and
Engineering Seismology, Part A: New York, N.Y.,
Elsevier Academic Press, 932 p.

DISCLAIMER
Base map data, such as place names and political
boundaries, are the best available but may not be
current or may contain inaccuracies and therefore
should not be regarded as having official signifiance.

Map updated by U.S. Geological Survey National

Earthquake Information Center
16 April 2016
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/
Map not approved for release by Director USGS