This was the most intense earthquake and tsunami that has been experienced on the planet

Recent archaeological evidence suggests that a magnitude 9.5 earthquake occurred in the Atacama, a coastal region of Chiliand almost its entire population disappeared.

This new discovery occurs because a team of archaeologists from the University of Chile visited the desert of Atacama with the aim of studying the littoral deposits -the land that exists between the highest and lowest levels of the tides- that were found along the coast.

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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 deposits had not existed for much more than 3,800 years, which implied that the geography in the area had been affected by a tectonic event.

Research by academics U. de Chile published in the journal “Science Advances” indicates that a magnitude 9.5 earthquake with a subsequent tsunami devastated the inhabitants of the coasts of the Atacama Desert 3,800 years ago https://t.co/4MoLghY8EV pic.twitter.com/mr6V6w1CGf

– University of Chile (@uchile) April 7, 2022

What happened?

Atacama it had a population of fishermen who took advantage of the marine resources of the region. The constructions were very close to the coastal area and, since we are talking about more than 3 thousand years ago, there were no structures designed to resist earthquakes.

According to the mathematical models carried out by the University of Chile, the seismic movement was approximately 9.5 magnitude, which makes it the most intense earthquake in the world.

From what scientists estimate, the coast suffered a rupture of more than 1,000 kilometers in length, which caused the houses that existed in that space to be literally swallowed by the earth.

In addition, the earthquake caused a tsunami that, according to the investigations, had a wave of at least 20 meters in height, which ended up making the situation catastrophic for the inhabitants of the sector and sank almost seven meters under the water what was left in its path.

This is what some places in the area look like today. (Photo: iStock)

Interestingly, the only comparable earthquake occurred in the same region many years later, in 1960, when An earthquake of magnitude 9.3 hit Valdivia, Chile, to later also cause a tsunami of the same magnitude as the one that occurred before.

The next day another earthquake took place in the same area that finished knocking down the buildings that had been damaged.
And at exactly 3:11 p.m. on the afternoon of Sunday, May 22… ⬇️

– TellingHistory (@tellinghisto1) May 22, 2020

The consequences of this were catastrophic in every way. The lives of the people, their knowledge and their culture were irretrievable.

According to what the University of Chile has been able to recover from traces of cemeteries that moved further and further from the coast, the survivors of that tragedy began to settle in higher areas and ended up hiding in the mountains for years, so everything that surrounds their culture, even their possible languages, is lost in history.

In addition, the alterations that the area suffered in terms of terrestrial aspects are also important. At the moment, this is a completely deserted area, even tourist, due to the sinking of the soil, so there is not much biodiversity either.

Sign indicating the way to San Pedro de Atacama, a town that is now located around the study area. (Photo: iStock)

Chili He is currently known to be one of the countries with the highest seismic activity. However, archaeologists worry about a tension between tectonic plates that is reflected in small, or not so small, earthquakes that occur continuously in the country.

The problem is that, as the plates are getting under each other, there will come a time when they will inevitably bounce and separate, which could cause the worst earthquake the world has ever seen, with consequences not only for Chile, but for many coastal countries of the Pacific and its surroundings.

Source: Elcomercio