120px|A hospital destroyed by the 1949 Ambato earthquake

The 1949 Ambato earthquake was the largest earthquake in the Western Hemisphere in over a decade. On August 5, 1949, it struck Ecuador's Tungurahua Province southeast of its capital, Ambato, and killed 5,050 people. Measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, it originated from a hypocenter 40 km (25 mi) beneath the surface. The earthquake initially followed an intersection of several northwest–southeast-trending faults in the Inter-Andean Valley, which were created by the subduction of the Carnegie Ridge. Strata of rock cracked as the earthquake ruptured the faults, sending out powerful shockwaves. The nearby villages of Guano, Patate, Pelileo, and Pillaro were destroyed, and the city of Ambato suffered heavy damage. The earthquake flattened entire buildings, and subsequent landslides caused damage throughout the Tungurahua, Chimborazo, and Cotopaxi Provinces. It disrupted water mains and communication lines and opened a fissure into which the small town of Libertad sank. Moderate shaking from the event extended as far away as Quito and Guayaquil. (more...)

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

64:

The Great Fire of Rome started among the shops around the Circus Maximus, eventually destroying three of fourteen Roman districts and severely damaging seven others. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Fire_of_Rome

1545:

The English warship Mary Rose foundered and sank just outside Portsmouth during the Battle of the Solent. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Rose

1553:

Lady Jane Grey was replaced by Mary I as Queen of England after holding that title for just nine days. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_I_of_England

1916:

World War I: Australian forces engaged the Germans at the Battle of Fromelles in France, described as "the worst 24 hours in Australia's entire history" since 5,533 Australian soldiers were eventually killed, wounded or taken prisoner in the failed operation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fromelles

1981:

In a private meeting with U.S. President Ronald Reagan, French Prime Minister François Mitterrand revealed the existence of the Farewell Dossier, a collection of documents showing that the Soviets had been stealing American technological research and development. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farewell_Dossier

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

putrescible (adj): That can decay; capable of rotting http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/putrescible

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

I should like to be famous and unknown. --Edgar Degas http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edgar_Degas