Reviewed by USGSChile80y ago
M6.2 earthquake 76 km S of Antofagasta, Chile
Tuesday, January 21, 1947, 20:06:49 UTC · 24.335°S, 70.289°W
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 76 km S of Antofagasta, Chile on Tuesday, January 21, 1947, 20:06:49 UTC, at a depth of 35.2 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.9 on August 2, 1946.
- Magnitude
- 6.2
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 35 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
26 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 55 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
120 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
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 23 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.060 km W of Diego de Almagro, ChileDecember 4, 1918 · 239 km S of this epicenter
- 7.583 km NNE of Taltal, ChileJuly 13, 1936 · 45 km S of this epicenter
- 7.550 km WNW of Diego de Almagro, ChileJune 8, 1909 · 203 km S of this epicenter
- 7.187 km SSE of Antofagasta, ChileJuly 8, 1942 · 26 km E of this epicenter
- 7.064 km NNE of Antofagasta, ChileNovember 20, 1928 · 133 km N of this epicenter
- 6.9178 km W of Taltal, ChileMay 24, 1913 · 243 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.952 km W of Diego de Almagro, ChileAugust 2, 1946 · 237 km S of this epicenter
- 6.881 km WSW of Calama, ChileDecember 23, 1916 · 187 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 15 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 3 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1946M7.9
Northern
2 Aug 1946 · 242 km away
2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1936M7.3
Taltal
13 Jul 1936 · 35 km away
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1918M7.8
Copiapo
4 Dec 1918 · 198 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1909M7.6
Chile
8 Jun 1909 · 242 km away
tsunami
- 1836M7.5
Cobija
3 Jul 1836 · 193 km away
tsunami
- 1929M7.5
Chile
19 Oct 1929 · 198 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.