1868 Ecuador earthquakes

1868 Ecuador earthquakes
	16 August 15 August Quito
UTC time	Doublet earthquake:
	1868-08-15 19:30
	1868-08-16 06:30
Local date
	15 August 1868
	16 August 1868
Local time
	Afternoon
	01:30
Magnitude
	6.3 Mw
	6.7 Mw
Depth	20 km
Epicenter	0°19′N 78°11′W / 0.31°N 78.18°W
Areas affected	Ecuador, Colombia
Max. intensity	MMI VIII (Severe); MMI X (Extreme)
Casualties	70,000

The 1868 Ecuador earthquakes occurred at 19:30 UTC on August 15 and 06:30 UTC on 16 August 1868. They caused severe damage in the northeastern part of Ecuador and in southwestern Colombia. They had an estimated magnitude of 6.3 and 6.7^[1] and together caused up to 70,000 casualties.^[2] The earthquake of 15 August occurred near El Ángel, Carchi Province, close to the border with Colombia, while that of August 16 occurred near Ibarra in Imbabura Province.^[1] Reports of these earthquakes are often confused with the effects of the earthquake of 13 August at Arica.^[2]

Tectonic setting

The active tectonics of Ecuador is dominated by the effects of the subduction of the Nazca plate beneath the South American plate. The high degree of coupling across the plate boundary where the Carnegie Ridge is being subducted beneath northern Ecuador causes unusually intense intraplate deformation.^[3] Known faults within the area of the earthquake epicenters are the SSW-NNE trending San Isidro, El Ángel, Río Ambi and Otavalo Faults, all considered to be dextral strike-slip faults, sometimes with reverse movement. All these faults are interpreted to have moved in the last 1.6 million years.^[4]

Damage

15 August

The towns of El Ángel and La Concepcion were severely shaken by the first earthquake and El Ángel was described as "ruined".^[5]

16 August

Ibarra was devastated, with every building destroyed and only a few walls left standing. Nearby Otavalo was left without a single house standing and 6,000 people died. In Imbabura Province, there were 15–20,000 casualties.^[6]

Characteristics

There was a minor foreshock the previous afternoon (possibly the 15 August event),^[2] with the mainshock occurring at 01:30 local time early on the morning of 16 August. The shaking lasted for one minute.^[7]

Aftermath

The relief efforts were organised by Gabriel García Moreno, who had been appointed to that role by the federal government.^[6]

On 26 April each year, in the 'El Retorno' festival, Ibarra celebrates the return of the inhabitants in 1872 after a four-year absence following the earthquake.^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Giesecke, A.; Capera A.A.G.; Leschiutta I.; Migliorini E. & Valverde L.R. (2004). "The CERESIS earthquake catalogue and database of the Andean Region: background, characteristics and examples of use" (PDF). Annals of Geophysics. 47 (2/3): 421–435. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (1972). "Comments for the Significant Earthquake (16 August)". NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
^ Gutscher, M.-A.; Malavieille J.; Lallemand S. & Collot J.-Y. (1999). "Tectonic segmentation of the North Andean margin: impact of the Carnegie Ridge collision" (PDF). Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 168 (3–4): 255–270. Bibcode:1999E&PSL.168..255G. doi:10.1016/S0012-821X(99)00060-6. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
^ "Map of Quaternary Faults and Folds of Ecuador and Its Offshore Regions" (PDF). Open File Report OFR 03-289. United States Geological Survey. 2003. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
^ National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (1972). "Comments for the Significant Earthquake (15 August)". NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
^ ^a ^b Henderson, P.V.N. (2008). Gabriel García Moreno and conservative state formation in the Andes. LLILAS new interpretations of Latin America series. University of Texas Press. pp. 134–141. ISBN 978-0-292-71903-3.
^ Orton, J. (2008) [1870]. "X". The Andes and the Amazon. 124–134. BiblioBazaar, LLC. ISBN 978-0-554-29708-8.
^ Kunstaetter, R.; Kunstaetter, D. (2007). Footprint Ecuador and Galápagos (6th ed.). Footprint Travel Guides. p. 180. ISBN 978-1-904777-93-9. Retrieved 20 August 2010.

External links

El Terremoto de Ibarra del 16 de Agosto de 1868 page on this earthquake from the Instituto Geofísico, Ecuador (in Spanish)
El Retorno: La Historia del Terremoto, Éxodo y Resurrección de Ibarra The Return: the story of the earthquake, the exodus of the population and the resurrection of Ibarra (in Spanish)

[Giesecke-1] Giesecke, A.; Capera A.A.G.; Leschiutta I.; Migliorini E. & Valverde L.R. (2004). "The CERESIS earthquake catalogue and database of the Andean Region: background, characteristics and examples of use" (PDF). Annals of Geophysics. 47 (2/3): 421–435. Retrieved 22 August 2010.

[NGDC_16-2] National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (1972). "Comments for the Significant Earthquake (16 August)". NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K. Retrieved 28 March 2022.

[Gutscher-3] Gutscher, M.-A.; Malavieille J.; Lallemand S. & Collot J.-Y. (1999). "Tectonic segmentation of the North Andean margin: impact of the Carnegie Ridge collision" (PDF). Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 168 (3–4): 255–270. Bibcode:1999E&PSL.168..255G. doi:10.1016/S0012-821X(99)00060-6. Retrieved 24 August 2010.

[USGS_map-4] "Map of Quaternary Faults and Folds of Ecuador and Its Offshore Regions" (PDF). Open File Report OFR 03-289. United States Geological Survey. 2003. Retrieved 23 August 2010.

[NGDC_15-5] National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (1972). "Comments for the Significant Earthquake (15 August)". NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K. Retrieved 28 March 2022.

[Henderson-6] Henderson, P.V.N. (2008). Gabriel García Moreno and conservative state formation in the Andes. LLILAS new interpretations of Latin America series. University of Texas Press. pp. 134–141. ISBN 978-0-292-71903-3.

[Orton-7] Orton, J. (2008) [1870]. "X". The Andes and the Amazon. 124–134. BiblioBazaar, LLC. ISBN 978-0-554-29708-8.

[Kunstaetter-8] Kunstaetter, R.; Kunstaetter, D. (2007). Footprint Ecuador and Galápagos (6th ed.). Footprint Travel Guides. p. 180. ISBN 978-1-904777-93-9. Retrieved 20 August 2010.

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v t e Earthquakes in the 1800s
1800s	1802 Vrancea 1803 Garhwal 1804 Kisakata 1804 Almería 1805 Molise
1810s	1810 Crete 1810 North Korea 1811–1812 New Madrid 1812 Caracas 1812 San Juan Capistrano 1812 Ventura 1815 Pinglu 1815 Bali 1816 North Atlantic 1816 Guatemala 1817 Santiago del Estero 1819 Copiapó 1819 Rann of Kutch
1820s	1822 Costa Rica 1822 Aleppo 1825 Blida 1828 Sanjō 1829 Torrevieja
1830s	1830 Cixian 1833 Bihar–Nepal 1833 Kunming 1833 Sumatra 1833 Shōnai 1834 Jerusalem 1834 Java 1835 Concepción 1837 Galilee 1837 Valdivia 1838 Vrancea 1838 San Andreas 1839 Ava
1840s	1840 Ahora 1841 Kamchatka 1841 Caída da Praia 1842 Cap-Haïtien 1843 Nias 1843 Guadeloupe 1843 Wanganui 1844 Salta 1847 Zenkoji 1848 Marlborough
1850s	1850 Xichang 1851 Vulture 1852 Banda Sea 1852 Acapulco 1853 Shiraz 1854 Iga–Ueno 1854 Tōkai 1854 Nankai 1855 Wairarapa 1855 Bursa 1855 Edo 1856 Djijelli 1856 Heraklion 1857 Fort Tejon 1857 Basilicata 1858 Hietsu 1859 Erzurum 1859 Shamakhi
1860s	1861 Sumatra 1861 Mendoza 1861 Mendoza 1863 Jujuy 1863 Hawke's Bay 1863 Manila 1865 Memphis 1866 Bingöl 1867 Manhattan 1867 Java 1867 Virgin Islands 1867 Keelung 1868 Hawaii 1868 Arica 1868 Ecuador 1868 Hayward 1869 Christchurch 1869 Cachar
1870s	1870 Batang 1870 Charlevoix 1871 Lānaʻi 1871 Orán 1871–72 Quchan 1872 Hamada 1872 Owens Valley 1872 Amik 1872 North Cascades 1873 Alpago 1875 Cúcuta 1877 Iquique 1879 Bozqush 1879 Surigao 1879 Gansu
1880s	1880 Southern Luzon 1880 Zagreb 1881 Chios 1881 Nicobar Islands 1882 Panama 1883 Casamicciola 1883 Çeşme 1884 Colchester 1884 Andalusian 1885 Belovodoskoe 1886 Peloponnese 1886 Charleston 1887 Sonora 1887 Verny 1888 Ritter Island 1888 Río de la Plata 1888 North Canterbury 1889 Chilik 1889 Kumamoto
1890s	1891 Port Waikato 1891 Mino–Owari 1892 Laguna Salada 1892 Catamarca 1892 Vacaville–Winters 1893 Malatya 1893 Quchan 1894 Vlorë 1894 Atalanti 1894 Tokyo 1894 Istanbul 1894 Shōnai 1894 San Juan 1895 Quchan 1895 Ljubljana 1895 Balkan 1895 Charleston 1896 Sanriku 1896 Rikuu Assam 1897 Mindanao 1898 Balıkesir 1898 Mare Island 1898 Trilj 1899 Yakutat Bay 1899 Aydın–Denizli 1899 Ceram 1899 San Jacinto

v t e Earthquakes in Ecuador
Pre-20th century	1698 Ambato (7.2–7.9) 1797 Riobamba (8.3) 1868 Ecuador–Colombia/Carchi (6.3 & 6.7)
20th century	1906 Ecuador–Colombia/Esmeraldas (8.8) 1942 Pedernales (7.9) 1949 Ambato (6.5) 1953 Guayaquil (7.3) 1958 Ecuador–Colombia/Esmeraldas (7.6) 1970 Peru–Colombia/El Oro (7.2) 1979 Tumaco (7.7) 1987 Napo (6.4, 7.2 & 6.0) 1998 Bahía de Caráquez (7.2)
21st century	2014 Pichincha (5.1) 2016 Pedernales (7.8) 2019 Loreto (8.0) 2021 Loreto (7.5) 2023 Guayas (6.8)

v t e Earthquakes in Colombia
Historical	1868 Ecuador 1875 Cúcuta
20th century	1906 Ecuador–Colombia 1958 Ecuador–Colombia 1970 Colombia 1979 Tumaco 1983 Popayán 1994 Paez river 1999 Armenia
21st century	2008 El Calvario 2023 central Colombia