Reviewed by USGSBolivia119y ago
M7.0 earthquake 69 km NW of Camargo, Bolivia
Monday, May 17, 1909, 08:02:57 UTC · 20.280°S, 65.755°W
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 69 km NW of Camargo, Bolivia on Monday, May 17, 1909, 08:02:57 UTC, at a depth of 255.0 km (intermediate). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 7.0
- Major · mb
- Depth
- 255 km
- Intermediate
- 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
477 kilotons of TNT
That is about 32 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,000 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
133 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Altiplano and South American plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: intermediate
255 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 no earlier M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km.
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. The most severe:
- 1899M6.9
Southern; Argentina: Salta
23 Mar 1899 · 286 km away · intensity X
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1909
Oruro
5 Nov 1909 · 285 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1884
Yacuiba
23 Sep 1884 · 286 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1884
Tarabuco
26 Nov 1884 · 163 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.