Reviewed by USGSArgentina60y ago
M6.1 earthquake 34 km SSE of Nueve de Julio, Argentina
Thursday, November 10, 1966, 03:02:34 UTC · 31.973°S, 68.301°W
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 34 km SSE of Nueve de Julio, Argentina on Thursday, November 10, 1966, 03:02:34 UTC, at a depth of 113.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.1 on April 10, 1966.
- Magnitude
- 6.1
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 113 km
- Intermediate
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- IV
- Light (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
21 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 45 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
416 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: intermediate
113 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 28 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.2The 1906 Valparaiso, Chile EarthquakeAugust 17, 1906 · 295 km W of this epicenter
- 7.47 km SSE of La Ligua, ChileMarch 28, 1965 · 280 km W of this epicenter
- 6.94 km ESE of Chimbas, ArgentinaJanuary 15, 1944 · 56 km N of this epicenter
- 6.972 km WNW of Calingasta, ArgentinaJuly 27, 1917 · 200 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.88 km W of Nueve de Julio, ArgentinaJune 11, 1952 · 38 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.862 km ESE of Puente Alto, ChileSeptember 4, 1958 · 258 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.726 km S of Nueve de Julio, ArgentinaDecember 17, 1920 · 13 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.725 km SE of Monte Patria, ChileNovember 14, 1927 · 265 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 20 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 24,817 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1861
Mendoza, San Luiz
20 Mar 1861 · 103 km away · intensity IX
14,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1944M6.9
San Juan Province
15 Jan 1944 · 56 km away · intensity IX
10,000 deaths$100 million damage
- 1965M7.3
Central
28 Mar 1965 · 277 km away
400 deaths$125 million damage
- 1920M6.7
Mendoza
17 Dec 1920 · 13 km away · intensity VIII
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1958M6.8
Chile-Argentina
4 Sep 1958 · 263 km away
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1952M6.8
San Juan
11 Jun 1952 · 38 km away · intensity VIII
5 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.