Reviewed by USGSBolivia71y ago
M6.3 earthquake 36 km W of Mapiri, Bolivia
Thursday, August 23, 1956, 13:48:29 UTC · 15.204°S, 68.502°W
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 36 km W of Mapiri, Bolivia on Thursday, August 23, 1956, 13:48:29 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.4 on February 24, 1947.
- Magnitude
- 6.3
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 35 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
43 kilotons of TNT
That is about 3 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 89 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
133 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: shallow
35 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 3 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 8 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 10 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1928M6.7
Peru
9 Apr 1928 · 267 km away · intensity IX
10 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1947M6.4
Conzata
24 Feb 1947 · 31 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1747
Carabaya Province: Ayapata
1747 · 246 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1725M7.6
Arequipa
8 Jan 1725 · 280 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1950M7.9
Peru
16 May 1950 · 110 km away
- 1951M7.9
Peru
16 May 1951 · 110 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.