Reviewed by USGSChile106y ago
M6.6 earthquake 72 km SW of Carahue, Chile
Sunday, March 12, 1922, 16:51:54 UTC · 39.205°S, 73.714°W
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck 72 km SW of Carahue, Chile on Sunday, March 12, 1922, 16:51:54 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.3 on December 10, 1920.
- Magnitude
- 6.6
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 35 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
104 kilotons of TNT
That is about 7 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 219 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
111 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 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 5 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.350 km SSW of Carahue, ChileDecember 10, 1920 · 25 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.019 km SW of Angol, ChileAugust 20, 1920 · 161 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.948 km SSE of Panguipulli, ChileJune 13, 1907 · 164 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.867 km NW of Ancud, ChileMarch 9, 1919 · 253 km S of this epicenter
- 6.717 km NNW of Loncoche, ChileAugust 19, 1906 · 86 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 10 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 59 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1835M8.2
Concepcion
20 Feb 1835 · 271 km away · intensity XI
53 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1898M6.5
Concepcion
23 Jul 1898 · 271 km away · intensity VIII
6 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1920M7.0
Off Coast Central
20 Aug 1920 · 135 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1742
Concepcion
23 Mar 1742 · 275 km away
tsunami
- 1838
Central
7 May 1838 · 284 km away
tsunami
- 1868
Central
14 Sep 1868 · 282 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.