Reviewed by USGSArgentina86y ago
M6.5 earthquake 27 km SE of Caucete, Argentina
Thursday, July 3, 1941, 07:11:46 UTC · 31.798°S, 68.043°W
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 27 km SE of Caucete, Argentina on Thursday, July 3, 1941, 07:11:46 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.7 on November 14, 1927.
- Magnitude
- 6.5
- 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
88 kilotons of TNT
That is about 6 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 184 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
440 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
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 5 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.972 km WNW of Calingasta, ArgentinaJuly 27, 1917 · 212 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.726 km S of Nueve de Julio, ArgentinaDecember 17, 1920 · 37 km W of this epicenter
- 6.725 km SE of Monte Patria, ChileNovember 14, 1927 · 278 km W of this epicenter
- 6.221 km SE of Candelaria, ArgentinaMay 22, 1936 · 227 km E of this epicenter
- 5.723 km NNE of Illapel, ChileJuly 15, 1929 · 293 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 12 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 14,405 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1861
Mendoza, San Luiz
20 Mar 1861 · 132 km away · intensity IX
14,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1920M6.7
Mendoza
17 Dec 1920 · 37 km away · intensity VIII
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1903M6.0
Mendoza
12 Aug 1903 · 105 km away · intensity VIII
3 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1880M7.7
Illapel
15 Aug 1880 · 297 km away · intensity X
2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1894M7.5
La Rioja, San Juan, Mendoza
27 Oct 1894 · 49 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1936M6.2
San Luis
22 May 1936 · 227 km away · intensity VIII
Severe damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.