Reviewed by USGSPeru79y ago
M6.1 earthquake 29 km ENE of Santa Rosa, Peru
Thursday, March 4, 1948, 01:53:02 UTC · 10.867°S, 74.624°W
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 29 km ENE of Santa Rosa, Peru on Thursday, March 4, 1948, 01:53:02 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.6 on November 1, 1947.
- Magnitude
- 6.1
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No 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
19 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 40 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
233 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
15 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 9 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.623 km E of Santa Rosa, PeruNovember 1, 1947 · 12 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.512 km S of Chiara, PeruJanuary 9, 1921 · 284 km S of this epicenter
- 6.518 km WSW of Oxapampa, PeruDecember 24, 1937 · 106 km W of this epicenter
- 6.111 km WNW of Sayán, PeruJanuary 20, 1932 · 291 km W of this epicenter
- 6.1central PeruSeptember 30, 1946 · 299 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.071 km NE of Paucarbamba, PeruNovember 6, 1925 · 140 km S of this epicenter
- 6.016 km NNE of Mazamari, PeruNovember 7, 1947 · 38 km S of this epicenter
- 5.942 km ENE of San Fernando, PeruJuly 11, 1931 · 291 km N 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 432 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1947M7.6
Satipo,Andamarca,Acobamba,La Merced,Victoc
1 Nov 1947 · 12 km away · intensity X
233 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1940M8.2
Peru
24 May 1940 · 263 km away · intensity X
179 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1937M6.5
Huancabamba,Oxapampa,El Progreso,San David
24 Dec 1937 · 213 km away · intensity X
15 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1865
Peru
8 Jan 1865 · 298 km away
5 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1897M7.7
Peru
20 Sep 1897 · 264 km away · intensity VII
- 1907M7.6
Peru
23 Feb 1907 · 273 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.