Reviewed by USGSArgentina75y ago
M6.8 earthquake 8 km W of Nueve de Julio, Argentina
Wednesday, June 11, 1952, 00:31:43 UTC · 31.672°S, 68.483°W
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck 8 km W of Nueve de Julio, Argentina on Wednesday, June 11, 1952, 00:31:43 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.9 on January 15, 1944.
- Magnitude
- 6.8
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 25 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 earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
265 kilotons of TNT
That is about 18 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 556 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
397 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: shallow
25 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 11 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 · 287 km W of this epicenter
- 8.145 km NNW of Illapel, ChileApril 6, 1943 · 277 km W of this epicenter
- 6.94 km ESE of Chimbas, ArgentinaJanuary 15, 1944 · 20 km N of this epicenter
- 6.972 km WNW of Calingasta, ArgentinaJuly 27, 1917 · 168 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.726 km S of Nueve de Julio, ArgentinaDecember 17, 1920 · 27 km S of this epicenter
- 6.725 km SE of Monte Patria, ChileNovember 14, 1927 · 234 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.631 km NNW of La Ligua, ChileNovember 29, 1932 · 275 km W of this epicenter
- 6.527 km SE of Caucete, ArgentinaJuly 3, 1941 · 44 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 17 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 24,415 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1861
Mendoza, San Luiz
20 Mar 1861 · 129 km away · intensity IX
14,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1944M6.9
San Juan Province
15 Jan 1944 · 20 km away · intensity IX
10,000 deaths$100 million damage
- 1920M6.7
Mendoza
17 Dec 1920 · 27 km away · intensity VIII
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1730M9.1
Valparaiso
8 Jul 1730 · 299 km away · intensity XI
5 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1952M6.8
San Juan
11 Jun 1952 · 0 km away · intensity VIII
5 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1903M6.0
Mendoza
12 Aug 1903 · 75 km away · intensity VIII
3 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.