Reviewed by USGSCosta Rica104y ago
M6.2 earthquake 33 km WSW of Jacó, Costa Rica
Tuesday, March 25, 1924, 14:06:57 UTC · 9.484°N, 84.902°W
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 33 km WSW of Jacó, Costa Rica on Tuesday, March 25, 1924, 14:06:57 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.3 on March 11, 1924.
- Magnitude
- 6.2
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 25 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
31 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 65 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
61 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Cocos and Panama plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
25 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 18 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.353 km SSE of Quepos, Costa RicaDecember 20, 1904 · 111 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.392 km SW of San Juan del Sur, NicaraguaDecember 30, 1907 · 219 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.3204 km WSW of Sámara, Costa RicaFebruary 27, 1916 · 267 km W of this epicenter
- 7.16 km WNW of Siquirres, Costa RicaApril 24, 1916 · 162 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.8228 km WSW of Burica, PanamaMarch 3, 1906 · 285 km S of this epicenter
- 6.711 km NE of Changuinola, PanamaApril 26, 1916 · 268 km E 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 700 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1910M6.4
Cartago, San Jose
4 May 1910 · 114 km away
700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1854M7.3
Costa Rica-Panama
5 Aug 1854 · 236 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1922M6.4
Nicaragua
16 Feb 1922 · 241 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1888
San Jose, Ala Juela, Heredia
30 Dec 1888 · 102 km away · intensity VIII
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1822M7.6
Matina
7 May 1822 · 209 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1844M7.4
Rivas, Greytown
May 1844 · 191 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.