Reviewed by USGSMexico96y ago
M6.0 earthquake 274 km SSE of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Sunday, April 19, 1931, 02:00:33 UTC · 20.720°N, 108.627°W
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 274 km SSE of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico on Sunday, April 19, 1931, 02:00:33 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.8 on January 2, 1931.
- Magnitude
- 6.0
- Moderate · 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
13 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 28 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
47 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Rivera and Pacific plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 10 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.0166 km WSW of Corral del Risco (Punta de Mita), MexicoMay 9, 1905 · 164 km E of this epicenter
- 7.0Revilla Gigedo Islands regionDecember 17, 1905 · 267 km S of this epicenter
- 6.8256 km SW of La Cruz de Loreto, MexicoJanuary 2, 1931 · 254 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.466 km SSW of Los Pozos, MexicoAugust 8, 1914 · 297 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.4262 km SW of La Cruz de Loreto, MexicoApril 18, 1919 · 288 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.4179 km WSW of La Cruz de Loreto, MexicoJuly 7, 1925 · 245 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.3199 km SW of La Cruz de Loreto, MexicoNovember 28, 1930 · 290 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.278 km NW of Corral del Risco (Punta de Mita), MexicoSeptember 15, 1919 · 267 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 1 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1925M7.0
S. Mexico
16 Nov 1925 · 300 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.