The1420 Caldera earthquake was apre-Columbian earthquake that shook the southern portion ofAtacama Desert in the early morning of 31 August 1420 and causedtsunamis in Chile as well asHawaii and the towns ofJapan. The earthquake is thought to have had a size of 8.8–9.4Mw.[1][2] Historical records of the tsunami exist for the Japanese harbours ofKawarago andAiga where confused residents saw the water recede in the morning of 1 September,[1] without any sign of an earthquake.[3] In Chile, rockfalls occurred along the coast as well, producing blocks of up to 40 tons that are now found inland.[1] This is also consistent with the identification of a possibletsunami deposit inMejillones Bay that has been dated to the range 1409 to 1449.[4][5] Deposits found by coring of recent sediments in a wetland nearTongoy Bay have also been linked to the 1420 tsunami.[6]
^Abad M.; Izquierdo T.; Cáceres M.; Bernárdez E.; Rodríguez-Vidal J. (2018). "Coastal boulder deposit as evidence of an ocean-wide prehistoric tsunami originated on the Atacama Desert coast (northern Chile)".Sedimentology.67 (3):1505–1528.doi:10.1111/sed.12570.S2CID135386871.
^Vargas, G.; Ortlieb, L.; Chapron, E.; Valdes, J.; Marquardt, C. (2005). "Paleoseismic inferences from a high-resolution marine sedimentary record in northern Chile (23°S)".Tectonophysics.399 (1–4):381–398.Bibcode:2005Tectp.399..381V.doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2004.12.031.
