Reviewed by USGSChile102y ago
M6.2 earthquake 21 km NW of Antofagasta, Chile
Friday, January 1, 1926, 21:37:19 UTC · 23.508°S, 70.539°W
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 21 km NW of Antofagasta, Chile on Friday, January 1, 1926, 21:37:19 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.3 on May 15, 1925.
- Magnitude
- 6.2
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 35 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
29 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 61 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
87 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and South American plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
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 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 8 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.550 km WNW of Diego de Almagro, ChileJune 8, 1909 · 294 km S of this epicenter
- 6.9178 km W of Taltal, ChileMay 24, 1913 · 291 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.881 km WSW of Calama, ChileDecember 23, 1916 · 124 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.6152 km WNW of Tocopilla, ChileOctober 22, 1920 · 237 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.697 km SW of Antofagasta, ChileAugust 5, 1907 · 105 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.472 km WNW of Diego de Almagro, ChileJanuary 5, 1919 · 282 km S of this epicenter
- 6.37 km SSE of Taltal, ChileMay 15, 1925 · 218 km S of this epicenter
- 6.251 km WNW of Taltal, ChileAugust 17, 1923 · 188 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 10 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,385 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1877M8.3
Off North Coast
10 May 1877 · 223 km away · intensity XI
2,385 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 1918M7.8
Copiapo
4 Dec 1918 · 281 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1836M7.5
Cobija
3 Jul 1836 · 104 km away
tsunami
- 1925M7.1
Northern
15 May 1925 · 294 km away
tsunami
- 1869M6.8
Iquique
21 Aug 1869 · 284 km away
tsunami
- 1870
Chile
22 Apr 1870 · 202 km away · intensity X
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.