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Fig. 6.4 The ruins of Cobija in
northern Chile. The tsunami of
May 10, 1877 destroyed the
town, which was subsequently
buried by alluvial gravels. The
ruins contain layers of shelly
sand brought ashore by the
tsunami. Photograph courtesy
Prof. Colin Murray-Wallace,
School of Earth & Environmental
Sciences, University of
Wollongong
Fig. 6.5 Passage of the tsunami
wave crest across the Pacific
Ocean following the May 22,
1960 Chilean earthquake. Based
upon Wiegel ( 1964 ) and
Pickering et al. ( 1991 )
120°
150°
180°
-150°
-120°
-90°
-60°
60°
North
America
30°
South
America
Australia
-30°
*
-60°
Passage of tsunami crest,
hours after earthquake
Epicenter
May 22, 1960
Epicenter
Feb. 27, 2010
*
towns between Concepción and the south end of Isla Chiloe
that the only evidence left of their existence were the remains
of streets (Fig. 6.6 ). Run-up along the Chilean coast near the
source area averaged 12.2 m above sea level and ranged
between 8.5 and 25 m (Table 6.1 ). Dunes were eroded by
overwashing, and sand was transported as a thin layer
tapering inland over alluvial sediments (Wright and Mella
1963 ). In the Valdivia region, 6-30 cm of beach sand was
deposited up to 500 m inland, while in the Rio Lingue Valley
where the tsunami reached a height of 15 m, a thin layer of
sand was deposited up to 6 km inland. The total loss of life in
Chile is unknown but probably lies between 5,000 and
10,000. The total property damage from the combined effects
of the earthquake and tsunami in Chile was $417 million.
 
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