Reviewed by USGSChile Earthquake121y ago
M8.2 earthquake in The 1906 Valparaiso, Chile Earthquake
Friday, August 17, 1906, 00:40:04 UTC · 32.400°S, 71.400°W
A magnitude 8.2 earthquake struck in The 1906 Valparaiso, Chile Earthquake on Friday, August 17, 1906, 00:40:04 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 8.2
- Great · mw
- Depth
- 35 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VII
- Very 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
30 megatons of TNT
That is about 1,998 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 63,096 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
128 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 400 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 400 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 1 M5.0+ earthquake 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 26 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 18,082 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1861
Mendoza, San Luiz
20 Mar 1861 · 248 km away · intensity IX
14,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1906M8.2
South Central
17 Aug 1906 · 87 km away · intensity XI
4,000 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1822M8.5
Valparaiso, Quillota, Concon, Aconcagua
20 Nov 1822 · 87 km away · intensity XI
72 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1730M9.1
Valparaiso
8 Jul 1730 · 15 km away · intensity XI
5 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1903M6.0
Mendoza
12 Aug 1903 · 219 km away · intensity VIII
3 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1880M7.7
Illapel
15 Aug 1880 · 89 km away · intensity X
2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.