Reviewed by USGSEcuador104y ago
M6.3 earthquake 28 km WNW of El Ángel, Ecuador
Friday, December 14, 1923, 10:31:19 UTC · 0.691°N, 78.190°W
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 28 km WNW of El Ángel, Ecuador on Friday, December 14, 1923, 10:31:19 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.3 on January 30, 1920.
- Magnitude
- 6.3
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 10 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
37 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 78 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
50 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North Andes and South American plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
10 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 5 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.81906 Ecuador-Colombia EarthquakeJanuary 31, 1906 · 134 km W of this epicenter
- 6.813 km N of Muisne, EcuadorJune 30, 1916 · 203 km W of this epicenter
- 6.667 km NNW of Esmeraldas, EcuadorJune 1, 1907 · 215 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.537 km SSW of La Tola, ColombiaJune 5, 1907 · 157 km N of this epicenter
- 6.347 km NNE of Timbiquí, ColombiaJanuary 30, 1920 · 286 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 18 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 112,550 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1868M7.7
Guayaquil,Ibarra; Colombia: San Pablo
16 Aug 1868 · 42 km away · intensity X
70,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1797M8.3
Riobamba, Quito, Cuzco; Peru; Colombia
4 Feb 1797 · 265 km away · intensity XI
40,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1906M8.8
Off Coast
31 Jan 1906 · 134 km away · intensity IX
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1757M7.0
Cotopaxi,Tungurahua, Latacunga
22 Feb 1757 · 183 km away · intensity IX
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1923M6.2
Ipiales
14 Dec 1923 · 50 km away · intensity IX
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1827M7.0
Bogota, Neiva, Popayan, Pasto, Huila
16 Nov 1827 · 234 km away · intensity XI
250 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.