M8.1 earthquake 1932 Jalisco, Mexico Earthquake

Friday, June 3, 1932, 10:36:58 UTC · 19.795°N, 103.931°W

A magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck 1932 Jalisco, Mexico Earthquake on Friday, June 3, 1932, 10:36:58 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.

Magnitude: 8.1; Great · mw
Depth: 35 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 400 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

21 megatons of TNT

That is about 1,415 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 44,668 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

174 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Cocos and North 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 400 km

USGS lists 6 M2.5+ earthquakes within 400 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M7.8 on June 18, 1932. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 12 M5.0+ earthquakes 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 26 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 4,558 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1806M7.5
Jalisco,Oaxaca,Michoacan
25 Mar 1806 · 100 km away · intensity VIII
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
1818M8.2
Morelos-Guerrero,Mexico City,Guadalajara
31 May 1818 · 77 km away · intensity X
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1932M8.1
Near Coast Of Jalisco
3 Jun 1932 · 19 km away · intensity X
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1932M7.7
Central
22 Jun 1932 · 78 km away
75 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1847
Jalisco,Oaxaca,Michoacan
2 Oct 1847 · 130 km away · intensity IX
58 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
1875M7.5
San Cristobal De La Barranca
11 Feb 1875 · 115 km away
25 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers