Reviewed by USGSCosta Rica104y ago
M6.0 earthquake 35 km ENE of Pital, Costa Rica
Tuesday, March 25, 1924, 15:03:34 UTC · 10.531°N, 83.962°W
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 35 km ENE of Pital, Costa Rica on Tuesday, March 25, 1924, 15:03:34 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.2 on March 25, 1924.
- Magnitude
- 6.0
- 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
16 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 33 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
13 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Panama and Caribbean 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 17 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 · 175 km S of this epicenter
- 7.392 km SW of San Juan del Sur, NicaraguaDecember 30, 1907 · 277 km W of this epicenter
- 7.16 km WNW of Siquirres, Costa RicaApril 24, 1916 · 64 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.718 km WSW of Nicoya, Costa RicaJanuary 20, 1905 · 187 km W of this epicenter
- 6.711 km NE of Changuinola, PanamaApril 26, 1916 · 200 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.712 km ESE of Jacó, Costa RicaMarch 4, 1924 · 121 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 23 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 · 59 km away
700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1854M7.3
Costa Rica-Panama
5 Aug 1854 · 249 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1922M6.4
Nicaragua
16 Feb 1922 · 246 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1888
San Jose, Ala Juela, Heredia
30 Dec 1888 · 66 km away · intensity VIII
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1898M7.9
Leon, Chinandega, Managua
29 Apr 1898 · 276 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1822M7.6
Matina
7 May 1822 · 156 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.