QuakeScout
Magnitude6.6

Reviewed by USGSChile57y ago

M6.6 earthquake 176 km S of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

Thursday, June 11, 1970, 06:02:56 UTC · 24.484°S, 68.461°W

A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck 176 km S of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile on Thursday, June 11, 1970, 06:02:56 UTC, at a depth of 112.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.7 on December 28, 1966.

Magnitude
6.6
Strong · mw
Depth
112 km
Intermediate
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

133 kilotons of TNT

That is about 9 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 279 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

306 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: intermediate

112 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 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 62 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.2121 km SSE of San Pedro de Atacama, ChileDecember 9, 1950 · 79 km NE of this epicenter
  2. 7.79 km SSW of Taltal, ChileDecember 28, 1966 · 237 km SW of this epicenter
  3. 7.583 km NNE of Taltal, ChileJuly 13, 1936 · 173 km W of this epicenter
  4. 7.550 km WNW of Diego de Almagro, ChileJune 8, 1909 · 277 km SW of this epicenter
  5. 7.377 km NNE of Taltal, ChileDecember 2, 1960 · 188 km W of this epicenter
  6. 7.187 km SSE of Antofagasta, ChileJuly 8, 1942 · 160 km W of this epicenter
  7. 7.064 km NNE of Antofagasta, ChileNovember 20, 1928 · 219 km NW of this epicenter
  8. 7.031 km SSW of Taltal, ChileFebruary 23, 1965 · 255 km SW of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 14 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 8 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1953M7.4

    Northern

    7 Dec 1953 · 266 km away

    3 deaths$7 million damage

  2. 1966M7.8

    Taltal, Catalina

    28 Dec 1966 · 252 km away · intensity VIII

    3 deathsUnder $1 million damagetsunami

  3. 1936M7.3

    Taltal

    13 Jul 1936 · 156 km away

    1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  4. 1950M8.0

    Chile-Argentina

    9 Dec 1950 · 147 km away · intensity VII

    1 death

  5. 1844M6.5

    Salta, Jujuy, Tucuman

    19 Oct 1844 · 255 km away · intensity VII

    Severe damage ($5–24M)

  6. 1836M7.5

    Cobija

    3 Jul 1836 · 281 km away

    tsunami

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers

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