Abstract

The Atacama earthquake of November 11, 1922 (Mw 8.5 – 8.6) is the second largest earthquake in Chile in the 20th century. In this paper we review the deposits associated with this tsunamigenic event and present new evidence of its record on the coast of the Atacama Desert. Its geological evidence appears punctually and heterogeneously due to the scarcity of environmental contexts suitable for its preservation on the coast, highlighting the good potential for preservation of boulder fields in cliff areas. It is likely that large tsunamigenic events that have taken place during the Present Interglacial on arid coasts, such as that of the Atacama Desert, have gone unnoticed to date by the scientific community, being necessary multidisciplinary studies and focused on very specific scenarios for their correct identification and analysis.