Reviewed by USGSChile104y ago
M6.8 earthquake 43 km N of Vallenar, Chile
Tuesday, January 29, 1924, 01:54:58 UTC · 28.183°S, 70.715°W
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck 43 km N of Vallenar, Chile on Tuesday, January 29, 1924, 01:54:58 UTC, at a depth of 45.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M8.5 on November 11, 1922.
- Magnitude
- 6.8
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 45 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 earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
239 kilotons of TNT
That is about 16 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 501 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
131 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
45 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 15 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.594 km ENE of Vallenar, ChileNovember 11, 1922 · 85 km E of this epicenter
- 8.060 km W of Diego de Almagro, ChileDecember 4, 1918 · 191 km N of this epicenter
- 7.550 km WNW of Diego de Almagro, ChileJune 8, 1909 · 227 km N of this epicenter
- 7.032 km NW of Fiambalá, ArgentinaAugust 3, 1920 · 291 km E of this epicenter
- 7.086 km NW of La Serena, ChileMarch 19, 1904 · 157 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.0118 km WNW of Vallenar, ChileNovember 7, 1922 · 122 km W of this epicenter
- 6.9103 km NNW of Coquimbo, ChileMay 20, 1918 · 162 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.957 km W of Ovalle, ChileFebruary 15, 1917 · 280 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 21 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 721 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1922M8.5
Atacama
11 Nov 1922 · 85 km away · intensity XI
700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1899
La Rioja
12 Apr 1899 · 232 km away · intensity VIII
11 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1859M7.6
Chile
5 Oct 1859 · 99 km away · intensity X
10 deathsUnder $1 million damagetsunami
- 1819M8.5
Copiapo
12 Apr 1819 · 153 km away · intensity X
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1819M8.0
Copiapo
4 Apr 1819 · 96 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1918M7.8
Copiapo
4 Dec 1918 · 244 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.