A newly identified fissure in a tectonic plate off the coast of Portugal may help explain the devastating earthquakes that have struck Lisbon, including the catastrophes of 1755 and 1969. The discovery, located about 200 kilometers off Cabo de São Vicente in Sagres, in the country’s southeast, offers fresh insight into a geological mystery that has puzzled researchers for decades.
The findings, published on August 27 in Nature Geosciences by researchers from the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Lisbon, suggest the fissure has been forming for at least five million years.
On a calm, peaceful morning in November 1755, the city of Lisbon (the vibrant and prosperous center of a vast and influential global empire) was suddenly brought to its knees by one of history's most catastrophic and transformative natural disasters.
Without warning, the bustling capital, celebrated across Europe for its spectacular wealth, flourishing culture, architectural splendor, and indispensable role in international commerce, was violently devastated by a sequence of relentless calamities. And it all started with a destructive earthquake that tore the city apart.
What followed was a series of catastrophes that plunged Portugal into profound economic ruin, crippled its global trade networks, severed critical colonial connections, and sparked widespread political turmoil and existential religious crises.
So, how did all of this happen? Click through this gallery to find out.