Historic Earthquakes
Colombia
1970 July 31 17:08 UTC
Magnitude 8.0
One killed and several injured.
Buildings trembled in the capital
cities of San Juan, Bogota, Caracas,
Sao Paulo, and Buenos Aires.
Light damage was noted in Peru.
A combination of great depth (651 km)
and high magnitude caused the
very wide felt area, but limited more
serious effects.
Felt from Buenos Aires, Argentina,
to Mexico City, Mexico,
and throughout the Caribbean.
Abridged from Earthquake Information Bulletin,
Volume 2, Number 6, and
United States Earthquakes, 1970.
"The last great, deep earthquake struck below Colombia in 1970 and
led to unprecedented discoveries about Earth's interior.
After that jolt, scientists set up networks of seismometers capable
of detecting the long-period vibrations of the normal modes. Then they waited."
From
Great quake in Bolivia rings Earth's bell - June 8, 1994
earthquake's depth has far-reaching impact for seismological research.