Reviewed by USGSArgentina49y ago
M4.6 earthquake 30 km SE of Caucete, Argentina
Sunday, January 22, 1978, 12:08:24 UTC · 31.811°S, 68.014°W
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 30 km SE of Caucete, Argentina on Sunday, January 22, 1978, 12:08:24 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.8 on January 17, 1978.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- 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
120 tons of TNT
That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
442 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 50 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 125 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.4San Juan, ArgentinaNovember 23, 1977 · 90 km N of this epicenter
- 6.94 km ESE of Chimbas, ArgentinaJanuary 15, 1944 · 57 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.972 km WNW of Calingasta, ArgentinaJuly 27, 1917 · 215 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.88 km W of Nueve de Julio, ArgentinaJune 11, 1952 · 47 km W of this epicenter
- 6.862 km ESE of Puente Alto, ChileSeptember 4, 1958 · 289 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.726 km S of Nueve de Julio, ArgentinaDecember 17, 1920 · 39 km W of this epicenter
- 6.725 km SE of Monte Patria, ChileNovember 14, 1927 · 281 km W of this epicenter
- 6.527 km SE of Caucete, ArgentinaJuly 3, 1941 · 3 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 15 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 24,482 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1861
Mendoza, San Luiz
20 Mar 1861 · 132 km away · intensity IX
14,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1944M6.9
San Juan Province
15 Jan 1944 · 57 km away · intensity IX
10,000 deaths$100 million damage
- 1920M6.7
Mendoza
17 Dec 1920 · 39 km away · intensity VIII
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1977M7.5
San Juan Province: Mendoza
23 Nov 1977 · 79 km away · intensity IX
65 deaths$80 million damage
- 1958M6.8
Chile-Argentina
4 Sep 1958 · 294 km away
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1952M6.8
San Juan
11 Jun 1952 · 47 km away · intensity VIII
5 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.