Reviewed by USGSChile107y ago
M7.0 earthquake 19 km SW of Angol, Chile
Friday, August 20, 1920, 16:15:42 UTC · 37.911°S, 72.887°W
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 19 km SW of Angol, Chile on Friday, August 20, 1920, 16:15:42 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 7.0
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VII
- Very strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
401 kilotons of TNT
That is about 27 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 841 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
153 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and South American plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
15 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 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 2 M5.0+ earthquakes 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 10 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 124 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1751M8.5
Concepcion, Chillan, Talca, Tutuben, Curico
25 May 1751 · 164 km away · intensity XI
65 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1835M8.2
Concepcion
20 Feb 1835 · 121 km away · intensity XI
53 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1898M6.5
Concepcion
23 Jul 1898 · 121 km away · intensity VIII
6 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1920M7.0
Off Coast Central
20 Aug 1920 · 55 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1742
Concepcion
23 Mar 1742 · 124 km away
tsunami
- 1838
Central
7 May 1838 · 136 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.