Reviewed by USGSBolivia100y ago
M5.3 earthquake 162 km W of Colchani, Bolivia
Wednesday, November 2, 1927, 06:09:45 UTC · 20.519°S, 68.476°W
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 162 km W of Colchani, Bolivia on Wednesday, November 2, 1927, 06:09:45 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.4 on August 17, 1918.
- Magnitude
- 5.3
- Moderate · 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
2 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/10 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 3 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
108 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: 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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 8 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.3136 km WSW of Challapata, BoliviaJune 6, 1915 · 150 km N of this epicenter
- 7.278 km SW of Colchani, BoliviaOctober 4, 1910 · 101 km E of this epicenter
- 7.069 km NW of Camargo, BoliviaMay 17, 1909 · 285 km E of this epicenter
- 6.9119 km W of Iquique, ChileSeptember 15, 1911 · 296 km W of this epicenter
- 6.925 km ENE of Arica, ChileAugust 30, 1906 · 294 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.987 km NNW of Iquique, ChileDecember 26, 1906 · 247 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.881 km WSW of Calama, ChileDecember 23, 1916 · 277 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.492 km N of Iquique, ChileAugust 17, 1918 · 213 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 25 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,385 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1877M8.3
Off North Coast
10 May 1877 · 237 km away · intensity XI
2,385 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 1878M7.9
Tarapaca
23 Jan 1878 · 205 km away · intensity VIII
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1871M7.3
Chile
5 Oct 1871 · 183 km away · intensity X
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1705
Chile: Arica
26 Nov 1705 · 280 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1869M7.5
Iquique, Pica; Peru: Tacna
24 Aug 1869 · 210 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1892
Arica
27 Mar 1892 · 298 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.