QuakeScout
Magnitude6.8

Reviewed by USGSChile65y ago

M6.8 earthquake 40 km SE of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

Friday, August 3, 1962, 08:56:20 UTC · 23.167°S, 67.914°W

A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck 40 km SE of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile on Friday, August 3, 1962, 08:56:20 UTC, at a depth of 124.8 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.3 on December 2, 1960.

Magnitude
6.8
Strong · mw
Depth
125 km
Intermediate
Felt reports
0
Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking
VI
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

239 kilotons of TNT

That is about 16 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 501 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

184 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Altiplano and South American plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

Depth: intermediate

125 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 25 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.2121 km SSE of San Pedro de Atacama, ChileDecember 9, 1950 · 90 km S of this epicenter
  2. 7.751 km W of Atocha, BoliviaNovember 29, 1957 · 276 km NE of this epicenter
  3. 7.583 km NNE of Taltal, ChileJuly 13, 1936 · 286 km SW of this epicenter
  4. 7.377 km NNE of Taltal, ChileDecember 2, 1960 · 298 km SW of this epicenter
  5. 7.278 km SW of Colchani, BoliviaOctober 4, 1910 · 273 km N of this epicenter
  6. 7.187 km SSE of Antofagasta, ChileJuly 8, 1942 · 255 km SW of this epicenter
  7. 7.064 km NNE of Antofagasta, ChileNovember 20, 1928 · 219 km W of this epicenter
  8. 6.881 km WSW of Calama, ChileDecember 23, 1916 · 183 km W of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 13 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 5 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1953M7.4

    Northern

    7 Dec 1953 · 143 km away

    3 deaths$7 million damage

  2. 1936M7.3

    Taltal

    13 Jul 1936 · 259 km away

    1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1950M8.0

    Chile-Argentina

    9 Dec 1950 · 56 km away · intensity VII

    1 death

  4. 1844M6.5

    Salta, Jujuy, Tucuman

    19 Oct 1844 · 282 km away · intensity VII

    Severe damage ($5–24M)

  5. 1836M7.5

    Cobija

    3 Jul 1836 · 252 km away

    tsunami

  6. 1916M7.5

    Bolivia-Northern Chile

    25 Aug 1916 · 241 km away

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

Nearby trackers

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