The Richter scale has no upper and lower values, although in practical terms the lowest magnitude earthquakes that are capable of being recorded have a Richter magnitude of -3 (the minus numbers occur because Charles Richter chose an arbitrary seismic wave amplitude to equal a magnitude of 1 and seismometers have become more sensitive since then, so smaller seismic waves can be detected leading to magnitude values lower than 1).
Conversely, the largest-ever earthquake recorded was a magnitude 9.5 event which occurred on May 22, 1960, in Valdivia, Chile.
Some more background information
It is thought that the asteroid impact event that occurred at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, 65.5 million years ago and thought to have contributed to the extinction of the dinosaurs (creating the Chicxulub crater), would have emitted energy equal to an earthquake of magnitude 12.5 on the Richter scale.
10,7. 190,650bc
The highest earthquake reading on the Richter scale is 9.5 when an earthquake struck Chilie
The highest earthquake on the Richter Scale was in Val diva, Chile the magnitude was 9.5 in 1960
An earthquake that was rated 3 on the Richter scale would beignored
Richter scale measures the magnitude of earthquakes.
The Richter scale is not a linear scale. This means that an earthquake of magnitude 6 does not have twice as destructive power as the earthquake of magnitude 3. Actually, an earthquake with magnitude 5 is ten times more destructive than an earthquake of magnitude 4. The Richter scale is a logarithmic scale.
The highest earthquake reading on the Richter scale is 9.5 when an earthquake struck Chilie
The Highest reading on the richter scale has been a 9.7 magnitude in Chilli
There is no absolute top to the Richter scale, although the largest earthquake ever recorded by mankind was the Valdivia earthquake in Chile that was the equivalent of 9.5 on the Richter scale in 1960. While no earthquake any stronger has ever been recorded, the impact that caused the Chicxulub crater in the Yucatan Peninsula about 65 million years ago has been calculated to have been the equivalent of about 13.0 on the Richter scale.
The highest earthquake on the Richter Scale was in Val diva, Chile the magnitude was 9.5 in 1960
It was recorded to be magnitude 9.5 on the Richter scale and if you wanted to know it was considered 'CATASTROPHIC' (XII) on the Mercalli scale which measures the intensity of the earthquake
The highest Richter scale value for an historical earthquake was the Great Chilean Earthquake (Valdivia Earthquake) of 1960, which occurred on May 22, 1960. Its moment magnitude was estimated at 9.5 on the Richter scale (9.4 to 9.6).
Chile
actually, the highest rating was an earthquake in Chili, coming in on a 9.5
The place with the highest magnitude on the Richter scale took place in the Solomon Islands on January 3, 2010. Luckily, no fatalities were recorded.
Its 4.
The 2011 earthquake was a 5.8 magnitude on the Richter scale.
An earthquake that was rated 3 on the Richter scale would beignored