Reviewed by USGSChile109y ago
M6.8 earthquake 67 km NW of Ancud, Chile
Sunday, March 9, 1919, 03:16:58 UTC · 41.422°S, 74.365°W
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck 67 km NW of Ancud, Chile on Sunday, March 9, 1919, 03:16:58 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.9 on June 13, 1907.
- Magnitude
- 6.8
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VI
- Strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
284 kilotons of TNT
That is about 19 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 596 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
84 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
15 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 2 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 4 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 16 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1837M8.5
Valdivia
7 Nov 1837 · 124 km away · intensity X
16 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1737M8.0
Valdivia, Chiloe
24 Dec 1737 · 178 km away · intensity XI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1869
Valdivia, Corral
6 Feb 1869 · 188 km away
tsunami
- 1871
Puerto Montt
28 Dec 1871 · 114 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.