Reviewed by USGSArgentina91y ago
M6.2 earthquake 21 km SE of Candelaria, Argentina
Friday, May 22, 1936, 00:15:59 UTC · 32.212°S, 65.684°W
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 21 km SE of Candelaria, Argentina on Friday, May 22, 1936, 00:15:59 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.7 on December 17, 1920.
- Magnitude
- 6.2
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 15 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
31 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 65 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
663 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 1 M5.0+ earthquake 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 6 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 14,400 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1861
Mendoza, San Luiz
20 Mar 1861 · 299 km away · intensity IX
14,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1920M6.7
Mendoza
17 Dec 1920 · 259 km away · intensity VIII
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1894M7.5
La Rioja, San Juan, Mendoza
27 Oct 1894 · 266 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1936M6.2
San Luis
22 May 1936 · 0 km away · intensity VIII
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1934M6.0
Cordoba
11 Jun 1934 · 181 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1908M6.5
Cordoba
22 Sep 1908 · 221 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.