The 1575 Valdivia earthquake was an earthquake

Earthquake

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...

 in Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

 that caused the subsequent flood

Flood

A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...

 of Valdivia

Valdivia, Chile

Valdivia is a city and commune in southern Chile administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder Pedro de Valdivia and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia and Cau-Cau Rivers, approximately east of the coastal towns of Corral and Niebla...

 much like the 1960 Valdivia earthquake caused the ensuing Riñihuazo

Riñihuazo

The Riñihuazo is the name given to the damming of Riñihue Lake on 22 May 1960, after a landslide caused by the Great Chilean Earthquake blocked its outflow. According to the chronicler Mariño de Lobera a similar event occurred after the 1575 Valdivia earthquake.During the Great Chilean Earthquake,...

 flooding. It occurred at 14:30 local time on December 16, 1575. It had an estimated magnitude of 8.5 on the surface wave magnitude

Surface wave magnitude

The surface wave magnitude scale is one of the magnitude scales used in seismology to describe the size of an earthquake. It is based on measurements in Rayleigh surface waves that travel primarily along the uppermost layers of the earth...

 scale. Pedro Mariño de Lobera

Pedro Mariño de Lobera

Pedro Mariño de Lobera was a Spanish conquistador and chronicler of the Arauco War in the Kingdom of Chile.-Biography:A professional soldier who served in the war between Spain and France, he went to the Americas in 1545. Mariño joined the forces of Pedro de La Gasca in Havana, Cuba, when he...

, who was corregidor

Corregidor (position)

A corregidor was a local, administrative and judicial position in Spain and its empire. He was the highest authority of a Corregimiento. In the Americas a corregidor was often called an alcalde mayor. They began to be appointed in fourteenth century Castile and the institution was definitively...

 of Valdivia by that time, wrote that the waters of the river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 opened like the Red Sea

Red Sea

The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...

, one part flowing upstream and one downstream. Mariño de Lobera also evacuated the city until the dam

Dam

A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...

 at Laguna de Anigua (nowadays Riñihue Lake

Riñihue Lake

The Riñihue Lake is a lake of glacial origin in eastern Valdivia Province, southern Chile. It is surrounded by several mountains. The eastern side receives the waters of the Panguipulli Lake, by the Enco River its main contributor. It is the last of the Seven Lakes chain. In the west is it cut...

) burst. At that moment he wrote that, while many Indians died, no Spaniards did, as the settlement of Valdivia was moved temporarily away from the riverside.

The epicenter was approximately 39°48′00"S 73°12′00"W.