Chile is one of the most seismically and volcanically active countries on Earth, sitting directly on the Pacific Ring of Fire. Along its entire length the Nazca Plate subducts beneath the South American Plate, a process that raises the Andes, feeds dozens of active volcanoes and unleashes some of the planet's largest earthquakes.
The country recorded the strongest quake ever measured, the 1960 Valdivia earthquake at magnitude 9.5, and endured another magnitude 8.8 event with a destructive tsunami in 2010. Its volcanic front includes iconic peaks such as Villarrica, Llaima and Osorno, keeping monitoring agencies constantly alert across the southern and central regions.