January 17, 2019
Easter Island inhabitants drank brackish water to survive
The remote Chilean island of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, is famous for its 961 giant stone statues and monuments, erected between 1200 …
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16 articles · Page 1 of 1
March 19, 2018
Residual strain explains later quakes
The largest earthquake in recorded history struck southern Chile on May 22, 1960. The magnitude-9.5 temblor was followed by a tsunami that, …
November 15, 2017
Transitional Chilesaurus fills gap between major dinosaur groups
In 2015, a new dinosaur was discovered in southern Chile, but its odd set of characteristics left paleontologists scratching their heads: Was it …
August 22, 2017
Getting there and getting around Patagonia
There are many ways to get to Patagonia. I would have preferred to get there by following Charles Darwin’s route, aboard a replica of H.M.S. …
August 22, 2017
Travels in Geology: Patagonia: The ends of the earth
Certain place names conjure up a sense of remoteness that verges on the mythical: Timbuktu, Outer Mongolia, the Yukon. For me, prime among these …
June 15, 2017
Whirling "gravel devils" show wind can carry more than just sand
Sand grains, by definition, are between 0.06 and 2 millimeters in diameter, and they are often thought of by scientists as the largest sediments …
November 29, 2016
Getting there and getting around Patagonia
Southern Chile has two main gateways, the homey town of Puerto Natales, a 1.5-hour drive from the national park, and Punta Arenas, a small city …
November 29, 2016
Travels in Geology: Exploring an icon of Patagonia: Chile's Torres del Paine National Park
While planning a family trip to Chile last year, Torres del Paine (pronounced “PIE nay”), a group of impossibly steep granite spires, was number …
February 19, 2016
Earliest Americans were wide-ranging wanderers
About 40 years ago, when the Monte Verde archaeological site in southern Chile was dated to 14,800 years ago, conventional ideas of American …
February 9, 2016
Hidden double earthquake spells trouble for tsunami-warning systems
On Jan. 2, 2011, a magnitude-7.1 earthquake was recorded striking central Chile along the tectonic boundary between the Nazca and South American …
January 7, 2016
Subducting seamounts blocked a big quake in Chile
Off the coast of Chile, the Nazca Plate is subducting beneath the South American Plate. Friction between the two plates creates stress along the …
March 9, 2015
Small tremor could have triggered big Chilean quake
On April 1, 2014, a magnitude-8.2 earthquake shook the empty stretch of coast where Chile arcs into Peru, a region called the Iquique Gap. The …
March 6, 2015
Chaitén's vigorous volcanic history revealed
When the Chaitén volcano erupted in southern Chile on May 2, 2008, the explosive event took local residents — and geologists — by surprise: …
January 5, 2012
Chile's quake larger but less destructive than Haiti's
On Feb. 27, at 3:34 a.m. local time, a magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck offshore Maule, Chile, 325 kilometers southwest of the capital, Santiago. …
January 5, 2012
Chile quake/tsunami news coverage: The bad and the good
Blogging on EARTH As you would expect, there's been tons of coverage of the earthquake off the coast of Chile and the resulting tsunami in the …
January 5, 2012
A history of "Big Ones"
The last time Chile experienced an earthquake larger than magnitude 8.8 was on May 22, 1960, when a magnitude-9.5 earthquake rocked the South …