The United States Geological Survey
recorded a Magnitude 5.1 Earthquake at a
depth of 147.3 km, roughly 6 km
to the northwest of the town of Palora in Morona Santiago Province, Ecuador, slightly after 4.25 am local
time (slightly after 9.25 am GMT) on Saturday 7 October 2017. As with most Earthquakes this deep there are no reports of any damage or casualties associated with this event (shockwaves from Earthquakes lose energy passing through layers of rock), but the event was felt across much of central and western Ecuador.
The approximate location of the 7 October 2017 Morona Santiago 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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