Reviewed by USGSPeru53y ago
M6.3 earthquake 5 km SSW of Mariatana, Peru
Saturday, January 5, 1974, 08:33:50 UTC · 12.299°S, 76.352°W
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 5 km SSW of Mariatana, Peru on Saturday, January 5, 1974, 08:33:50 UTC, at a depth of 98.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.6 on October 1, 1969.
- Magnitude
- 6.3
- Strong · mb
- Depth
- 98 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
43 kilotons of TNT
That is about 3 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 89 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
224 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
98 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 57 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.221 km SE of Huacho, PeruMay 24, 1940 · 169 km NW of this epicenter
- 8.167 km W of Paramonga, PeruOctober 17, 1966 · 289 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.623 km E of Santa Rosa, PeruNovember 1, 1947 · 236 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.928 km W of Paramonga, PeruSeptember 24, 1963 · 264 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.710 km SSW of Huacho, PeruMay 24, 1940 · 186 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.691 km SSW of Santiago, PeruJune 25, 1930 · 296 km S of this epicenter
- 6.616 km S of Comas, PeruOctober 1, 1969 · 145 km E of this epicenter
- 6.512 km S of Chiara, PeruJanuary 9, 1921 · 264 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 36 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 6,681 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1746M8.0
Lima, Callao
29 Oct 1746 · 98 km away · intensity XI
5,941 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1947M7.6
Satipo,Andamarca,Acobamba,La Merced,Victoc
1 Nov 1947 · 236 km away · intensity X
233 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1940M8.2
Peru
24 May 1940 · 212 km away · intensity X
179 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1969M6.6
Huaytapallana, Lampa, Chilifruta
1 Oct 1969 · 150 km away · intensity XI
130 deaths$5 million damage
- 1974M8.1
Lima, Callao
3 Oct 1974 · 156 km away · intensity IX
78 deaths$10 million damagetsunami
- 1813
Ica
30 Mar 1813 · 225 km away · intensity VII
32 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.