Reviewed by USGSChile66y ago
M6.2 earthquake in Off the coast of Los Lagos, Chile
Tuesday, November 22, 1960, 12:28:54 UTC · 40.134°S, 74.788°W
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck in Off the coast of Los Lagos, Chile on Tuesday, November 22, 1960, 12:28:54 UTC, at a depth of 20.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.4 on November 1, 1960.
- Magnitude
- 6.2
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 20 km
- Shallow
- 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
35 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 72 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
32 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
20 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 35 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 9.51960 Great Chilean Earthquake (Valdivia Earthquake)May 22, 1960 · 251 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.14 km ESE of Cañete, ChileMay 21, 1960 · 285 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.838 km WNW of Traiguén, ChileMay 22, 1960 · 276 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.4Off the coast of Araucania, ChileNovember 1, 1960 · 187 km N of this epicenter
- 7.350 km SSW of Carahue, ChileDecember 10, 1920 · 161 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.024 km WNW of Traiguén, ChileJune 20, 1960 · 273 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.019 km SW of Angol, ChileAugust 20, 1920 · 297 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.917 km WSW of Pitrufquén, ChileJune 20, 1960 · 206 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 9 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,299 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1960M9.5
Puerto Montt, Valdivia
22 May 1960 · 251 km away · intensity XII
2,226 deaths$1.0 billion damagetsunami
- 1949M7.3
Angol, Traiguen
20 Apr 1949 · 262 km away
57 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1837M8.5
Valdivia
7 Nov 1837 · 271 km away · intensity X
16 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1920M7.0
Off Coast Central
20 Aug 1920 · 262 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1960M8.2
Central
21 May 1960 · 285 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1960M7.4
Concepcion
1 Nov 1960 · 184 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.