Reviewed by USGSArgentina98y ago
M6.7 earthquake 64 km ESE of San Rafael, Argentina
Thursday, May 30, 1929, 09:43:26 UTC · 34.858°S, 67.692°W
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck 64 km ESE of San Rafael, Argentina on Thursday, May 30, 1929, 09:43:26 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 6.7
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 10 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: 100 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
158 kilotons of TNT
That is about 10 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 331 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
492 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
10 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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.0 on May 30, 1929. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
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 3 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 14,031 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1861
Mendoza, San Luiz
20 Mar 1861 · 251 km away · intensity IX
14,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1929M6.7
Mendoza
30 May 1929 · 0 km away · intensity VIII
31 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1782M7.0
Mendoza
22 May 1782 · 249 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.