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It is estimated that the March 11, 2011 earthquake in Japan was 1,000 times more powerful than the quake that struck Haiti in 2010. Watch as Smithsonian geologist Dr. Liz Cottrell explains this and more about the major earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

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Understanding the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

March 2011

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Fossil Whale Digsite at Cerro Ballena, Chile

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The Digsite at Cerro Ballena

March 2014

a colored shakemap from the M5.8 Virginia Earthquake depicts the shake range and epicenter of the earthquake

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Map of the Magnitude 5.8 Virginia Earthquake of 2011

August 2011

A photo of an arid ocean cliff in Chile's Atacama Desert with the ocean below.

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Exploring Chile's Marine Fossil Record in the Atacama Desert

September 2011