Megathrust earthquake

Megathrust earthquakes occur at <a href="/facts/Convergent_boundary/rhgWhQx3">convergent plate boundaries</a>, where one <a href="/facts/Tectonic_plate/CvbfSfeC">tectonic plate</a> is forced underneath another. The earthquakes are caused by slip along the <a href="/facts/Thrust_fault/qxDnYlS8">thrust fault</a> that forms the contact between the two plates. These <a href="/facts/Interplate_earthquake/69548uy2">interplate earthquakes</a> are the planet's most powerful, with <a href="/facts/Moment_magnitude_scale/jLCldUuF">moment magnitudes</a> (Mw) that can exceed 9.0. Since 1900, all <a href="/facts/Earthquake/NGjIzagw">earthquakes</a> of magnitude 9.0 or greater have been megathrust earthquakes.
The thrust faults responsible for megathrust earthquakes often lie at the bottom of <a href="/facts/Oceanic_trench/sbp2PRk4">oceanic trenches</a>; in such cases, the earthquakes can abruptly displace the sea floor over a large area. As a result, megathrust earthquakes often generate <a href="/facts/Tsunami/N3xGNHBl">tsunamis</a> that are considerably more destructive than the earthquakes themselves. <a href="/facts/Teletsunami/LM2cyzvV">Teletsunamis</a> can cross ocean basins to devastate areas far from the original earthquake.

Megathrust earthquake open-in-new

Megathrust earthquake