QuakeScout
Magnitude5.1

Reviewed by USGSChile60y ago

M5.1 earthquake 30 km WSW of Taltal, Chile

Sunday, January 15, 1967, 15:05:43 UTC · 25.487°S, 70.772°W

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 30 km WSW of Taltal, Chile on Sunday, January 15, 1967, 15:05:43 UTC, at a depth of 29.2 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.3 on December 30, 1966.

Magnitude
5.1
Moderate · mw
Depth
29 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 earthquake

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

747 tons of TNT

That is about 1/20 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 2 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

80 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and South American plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: shallow

29 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 75 km

USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 50 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.060 km W of Diego de Almagro, ChileDecember 4, 1918 · 109 km S of this epicenter
  2. 7.79 km SSW of Taltal, ChileDecember 28, 1966 · 24 km E of this epicenter
  3. 7.583 km NNE of Taltal, ChileJuly 13, 1936 · 106 km NE of this epicenter
  4. 7.550 km WNW of Diego de Almagro, ChileJune 8, 1909 · 79 km S of this epicenter
  5. 7.4Atacama, ChileApril 18, 1939 · 193 km S of this epicenter
  6. 7.377 km NNE of Taltal, ChileDecember 2, 1960 · 97 km NE of this epicenter
  7. 7.187 km SSE of Antofagasta, ChileJuly 8, 1942 · 144 km NE of this epicenter
  8. 7.064 km NNE of Antofagasta, ChileNovember 20, 1928 · 269 km N of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 22 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 16 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1859M7.6

    Chile

    5 Oct 1859 · 211 km away · intensity X

    10 deathsUnder $1 million damagetsunami

  2. 1966M7.8

    Taltal, Catalina

    28 Dec 1966 · 7 km away · intensity VIII

    3 deathsUnder $1 million damagetsunami

  3. 1946M7.9

    Northern

    2 Aug 1946 · 116 km away

    2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  4. 1936M7.3

    Taltal

    13 Jul 1936 · 135 km away

    1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  5. 1819M8.5

    Copiapo

    12 Apr 1819 · 183 km away · intensity X

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  6. 1819M8.0

    Copiapo

    4 Apr 1819 · 218 km away

    Severe damage ($5–24M)

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

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