Reviewed by USGSChile104y ago
M6.2 earthquake 51 km WNW of Taltal, Chile
Friday, August 17, 1923, 01:05:11 UTC · 25.164°S, 70.926°W
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 51 km WNW of Taltal, Chile on Friday, August 17, 1923, 01:05:11 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.4 on January 5, 1919.
- 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
28 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 59 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
60 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 7 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.060 km W of Diego de Almagro, ChileDecember 4, 1918 · 147 km S of this epicenter
- 7.550 km WNW of Diego de Almagro, ChileJune 8, 1909 · 118 km S of this epicenter
- 6.9178 km W of Taltal, ChileMay 24, 1913 · 142 km W of this epicenter
- 6.936 km W of Copiapó, ChileSeptember 6, 1910 · 252 km S of this epicenter
- 6.881 km WSW of Calama, ChileDecember 23, 1916 · 297 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.697 km SW of Antofagasta, ChileAugust 5, 1907 · 89 km N of this epicenter
- 6.472 km WNW of Diego de Almagro, ChileJanuary 5, 1919 · 100 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 14 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 10 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1859M7.6
Chile
5 Oct 1859 · 250 km away · intensity X
10 deathsUnder $1 million damagetsunami
- 1819M8.5
Copiapo
12 Apr 1819 · 212 km away · intensity X
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1819M8.0
Copiapo
4 Apr 1819 · 256 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1918M7.8
Copiapo
4 Dec 1918 · 93 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1819M8.0
Copiapo
3 Apr 1819 · 256 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1796M7.7
Copiapo, Vallenar, Huasco, Coquimbo
30 Mar 1796 · 250 km away · intensity XI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.