The United States Geological Survey
recorded a Magnitude 6.2 Earthquake at a
depth of 18.5 km, roughly 27 km off the coast of Santa Elana Province,
Ecuador, slightly before 2.05 am local
time (slightly before 7.05 am GMT) on Sunday 31 March 2019. There are no reports of any damage or
casualties associated with this event, but the event was felt across much of western Ecuador.
The approximate location of the 31 March 2019 Santa Elena Earthquake. USGS.
Ecuador is on the west coast of South America and the western margin of the South American Plate, close to where the Nazca Plate, which underlies part of the east Pacific, is being subducted along the Peru-Chile Trench. The Nazca Plate passes under the South American Plate as it sinks into the Earth, this is not a smooth process and the plates repeatedly stick together then break apart as the pressure builds up, causing Earthquakes. As the Nazca Plate sinks further it is melted by the heat of the Earth's interior. Some of this melted material then rises through the overlying South American Plate, fuelling the volcanoes of Ecuador and neighbouring countries.
The subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American Plate, and how it causes Earthquakes and volcanoes. SIO SEARCH.
Witness
accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events,
and the structures that cause them. The international non-profit
organisation Earthquake Report is interested in hearing from people who may have felt this event; if you felt this quake then you can report it to Earthquake Report here.
See also...
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