Reviewed by USGSMexico120y ago
M7.5 earthquake 6 km S of Copala, Mexico
Thursday, March 26, 1908, 23:03:30 UTC · 16.546°N, 98.986°W
A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck 6 km S of Copala, Mexico on Thursday, March 26, 1908, 23:03:30 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.8 on April 15, 1907.
- Magnitude
- 7.5
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 25 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
2.3 megatons of TNT
That is about 155 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 4,898 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
63 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Cocos and North American plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
25 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 200 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M7.2 on March 27, 1908. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 1 M5.0+ earthquake within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 48 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 53 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1864M7.0
Puebla,Veracruz,Acultzingo,Acatzingo
3 Oct 1864 · 159 km away
20 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1787M8.6
San Marcos, Oaxaca
28 Mar 1787 · 52 km away · intensity IX
11 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1907M8.3
Guerrero
15 Apr 1907 · 119 km away
8 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1882M7.5
Puebla,Huahuapan,Huamuxtitlan,Xalpatlahuac
19 Jul 1882 · 153 km away
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1854M7.7
Veracruz,Oaxaca
5 May 1854 · 139 km away · intensity IX
4 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1902M7.0
Guerrero
16 Jan 1902 · 142 km away
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.