Reviewed by USGSCosta Rica114y ago
M6.2 earthquake 115 km W of Santa Cruz, Costa Rica
Thursday, October 23, 1913, 15:00:10 UTC · 10.065°N, 86.625°W
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 115 km W of Santa Cruz, Costa Rica on Thursday, October 23, 1913, 15:00:10 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.3 on December 30, 1907.
- Magnitude
- 6.2
- Strong · 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
25 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 53 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
8 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Cocos and Panama plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
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 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 7 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.392 km SW of San Juan del Sur, NicaraguaDecember 30, 1907 · 70 km N of this epicenter
- 7.2116 km SW of Corinto, NicaraguaJuly 1, 1907 · 222 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.718 km WSW of Nicoya, Costa RicaJanuary 20, 1905 · 111 km E of this epicenter
- 6.273 km WSW of Jiquilillo, NicaraguaJune 20, 1906 · 299 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.810 km WNW of Puntarenas, Costa RicaOctober 6, 1907 · 186 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 13 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 700 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1910M6.4
Cartago, San Jose
4 May 1910 · 288 km away
700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1885
Leon,Chinandega,Managua
12 Oct 1885 · 249 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1888
San Jose, Ala Juela, Heredia
30 Dec 1888 · 277 km away · intensity VIII
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1898M7.9
Leon, Chinandega, Managua
29 Apr 1898 · 226 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1844M7.4
Rivas, Greytown
May 1844 · 236 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1882M5.8
Alajuela, San Jose, Heredia
3 Mar 1882 · 284 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.