Arequipa/Arica Earthquake (Peru-Chile Border Zone), 1868

Abstract

Similar to the Lisbon earthquake which did not occur in Lisbon, but in the Atlantic Ocean near the Portuguese coast, the Peruvian–Chilean earthquake of August 13, 1868, also did not occur inland, but in the coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean. And, as the Lisbon event in 1755, the 1868 Arica earthquake also generated large, devastating tsunami waves.

Figure 115 presents a hand-colored xylograph, entitled “The Recent Earthquake in South America.” This picture originally appeared as a double-page newspaper illustration in London in 1868. Its bottom part shows the border town of Arica (formerly in southern Peru, nowadays in northern Chile) viewed from the southwest, from a place opposite to a mighty rock cliff. The town, located on a gentle slope, was devastated by the earthquake. Some houses regardless of severe damages were still standing. However, the front part of the town, spreading along the sea coast (behind the sailboat), was swept away by a tsunami wave. The upper part of the picture, viewed from north to south, documents the final stage of the catastrophe.