Reviewed by USGSMexico114y ago
M7.2 earthquake 127 km SW of La Esperanza (El Zapotal), Mexico
Monday, March 30, 1914, 00:41:04 UTC · 14.608°N, 93.976°W
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck 127 km SW of La Esperanza (El Zapotal), Mexico on Monday, March 30, 1914, 00:41:04 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 7.2
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 15 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
951 kilotons of TNT
That is about 63 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,995 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
42 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Cocos and North 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 200 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 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:
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 8 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 54 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1870M7.9
Oaxaca,Zanaguia,San Francisco Ozolotepec
11 May 1870 · 265 km away
24 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1816M7.5
Soloma
22 Jul 1816 · 284 km away · intensity IX
23 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1801M7.0
Oaxaca
5 Oct 1801 · 288 km away
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1902M7.8
Venustiano Carranza,Chiapas,Chis,Tabasco
23 Sep 1902 · 266 km away · intensity VIII
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1765M7.5
Chiquimula, Quetzaltepeque
24 Oct 1765 · 194 km away · intensity VIII
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1791
San Marcos
16 Mar 1791 · 266 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.