Reviewed by USGSChile105y ago
M6.2 earthquake 17 km NW of Coquimbo, Chile
Sunday, November 26, 1922, 13:30:00 UTC · 29.850°S, 71.474°W
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 17 km NW of Coquimbo, Chile on Sunday, November 26, 1922, 13:30:00 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.8 on November 17, 1922.
- 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
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
106 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
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 12 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 · 234 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.2The 1906 Valparaiso, Chile EarthquakeAugust 17, 1906 · 284 km S of this epicenter
- 7.086 km NW of La Serena, ChileMarch 19, 1904 · 71 km N of this epicenter
- 7.0118 km WNW of Vallenar, ChileNovember 7, 1922 · 171 km N of this epicenter
- 6.9103 km NNW of Coquimbo, ChileMay 20, 1918 · 87 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.957 km W of Ovalle, ChileFebruary 15, 1917 · 80 km S of this epicenter
- 6.972 km WNW of Calingasta, ArgentinaJuly 27, 1917 · 185 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.936 km W of Copiapó, ChileSeptember 6, 1910 · 280 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 22 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 717 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1922M8.5
Atacama
11 Nov 1922 · 234 km away · intensity XI
700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1859M7.6
Chile
5 Oct 1859 · 299 km away · intensity X
10 deathsUnder $1 million damagetsunami
- 1730M9.1
Valparaiso
8 Jul 1730 · 295 km away · intensity XI
5 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1880M7.7
Illapel
15 Aug 1880 · 199 km away · intensity X
2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1819M8.0
Copiapo
4 Apr 1819 · 296 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1873
Ligua, Quillolta
7 Jul 1873 · 274 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.