Earthquake starts tsunami
![Cartoon depicting an earthquake along a subduction zone with big starburst symbol, shows how ocean water is displaced upward.](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/full_width/public/thumbnails/image/c1187-6.jpg?itok=y65sc74R)
Detailed Description
An earthquake along a subduction zone happens when the leading edge of the overriding plate breaks free and springs seaward, raising the sea floor and the water above it. This uplift starts a tsunami. Meanwhile, the bulge behind the leading edge collapses, thinning the plate and lowering coastal areas.
Sources/Usage
Public Domain.
Surviving a tsunami: lessons from Chile, Hawaii, and Japan; USGS Circular 1187
Actions that save lives, and actions that cost lives, as recounted by eyewitnesses to the tsunami from the largest earthquake ever measured--the magnitude 9.5 earthquake in Chile on May 22, 1960.