The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 4.9 Earthquake at a depth of 8.5 km in southern La Rioja Province, Argentina, at about 3.05 pm local time (6.05 pm GMT) on Sunday 8 June 2014. The quake was felt as far away as Cordoba, 200 km east of the epicenter, though there are no reports of any damage or injuries relating to this event.
The approximate location of the 8 June 2014 La Rioja Earthquake. Google Maps.
La Roija Province is located on the eastern margin of the Andes Mountains, one of the most tectonically active mountain ranges in the world, and the plains to the east of these mountains. The Andes are being formed as the Nazca Plate to the west is subducted beneath the South American Plate. This causes quakes in a number of ways. Firstly there is friction between the two plates as the Nazca Plate passes under South America. Then there is crumpling and upthrust of the South American as it is pushed from the west by the Nazca Plate and from the east by the expansion of the Atlantic. Finally there is volcanic activity in the Andes, as lighter minerals in the Nazca Plate are melted by the heat of the Earth's interior, then rise up through the overlying South American Plate to form volcanoes.
See also...
The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 5.5 Earthquake at a depth of 19.3 km in Mendoza Province, eastern...
The United Sates Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 4.6 Earthquake at a depth of 32.4 km in eastern Catamarca Province...
The United States Geological Survey detected a Magnitude 4.7...
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