Magnitude 8.1 Earthquake Hits Mexico: Subduction Strikes Again

Big earthquake just off the coast of southern Mexico last night. 

 Image from USGS

The earthquake occurred about 80 km (50 miles) deep in the Earth. It happened in the subduction zone that runs along the coast of southern Mexico, where tectonic plates penetrate into the Earth beneath the country, drive up the country's high mountains, power its big volcanoes, and generate its big earthquakes. 

The damage, and human fatalities and injuries, are being assessed and responded to, and people are still being helped and rescued, as I write this. 

Collapsed hotel in Matias Romero, Oaxaca: from BBC

It is worth noting that we have a subduction zone of our own here in the Pacific Northwest, along the coast. It's called the Cascadia subduction zone. The subduction process creates our high mountains, our majestic (and dangerous), cone-shaped volcanoes, and, occasionally, it generates big subduction earthquakes like the one that just happened in Mexico. 

Image from Wikipedia

The biggest earthquakes in the world are the subduction earthquakes, something to keep in mind if you live near a subduction zone.