Summary:
- Chile experienced a huge 8.8 magnitude earthquake in February 2010.
- The earthquake was due to subduction of the Nazca plate beneath South America.
- This subduction zone is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire.
- In a single year, on average, more than 900,000 earthquakes are recorded.
- About 150,000 of them are strong enough to be felt.
- Each year about 18 earthquakes are major, with a Richter magnitude of 7.0 to 7.9, and on average one earthquake has a magnitude of 8 to 8.9.
- The vast majority of earthquakes happen at plate boundaries.