Recent Tectonic Activity
On December 26, 2004, a large portion of the boundary between the Burma Plate and the Indo-Australian Plate slipped, causing the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. This megathrust earthquake had a magnitude estimated by researchers to be between Mw9.0 and Mw9.3. Over 1600 km of the boundary underwent thrust faulting and shifted up to 5 meters vertically and 11 meters horizontally. This rise in the sea floor over such a short time (seven minutes) generated a massive tsunami that killed approximately 229,800 people along the coast of the Indian Ocean.
Read more about this topic: Burma Plate
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)