M6.0 earthquake 27 km ESE of Burruyacú, Argentina

Friday, April 3, 1931, 05:18:53 UTC · 26.621°S, 64.503°W

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 27 km ESE of Burruyacú, Argentina on Friday, April 3, 1931, 05:18:53 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.1 on December 24, 1930.

Magnitude: 6.0; 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

16 kilotons of TNT

That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 34 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

574 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 4 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 6 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 31 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1930M6.1
La Poma
24 Dec 1930 · 192 km away · intensity VIII
31 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
1844M6.5
Salta, Jujuy, Tucuman
19 Oct 1844 · 234 km away · intensity VII
Severe damage ($5–24M)
1817
Santiago Del Estero Province
4 Jul 1817 · 153 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
1826
Candelaria, Trancas, Zarate, El Tala
19 Jan 1826 · 229 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
1898
Catamarca
5 Feb 1898 · 260 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
1916M7.5
Argentina
21 Jun 1916 · 256 km away

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

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