Reviewed by USGSPeru48y ago
M4.8 earthquake 9 km WSW of El Cardo, Peru
Saturday, February 24, 1979, 12:16:14 UTC · 16.629°S, 72.814°W
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 9 km WSW of El Cardo, Peru on Saturday, February 24, 1979, 12:16:14 UTC, at a depth of 70.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.2 on February 20, 1979.
- Magnitude
- 4.8
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 70 km
- Intermediate
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
239 tons of TNT
That is about 1/63 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 2 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
137 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and Altiplano plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: intermediate
70 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 50 km
USGS lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.1 on March 21, 1979. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 102 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.121 km NNE of Minas de Marcona, PeruAugust 24, 1942 · 295 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.737 km SSW of Atico, PeruAugust 6, 1913 · 99 km W of this epicenter
- 7.235 km N of El Cardo, PeruOctober 11, 1922 · 40 km N of this epicenter
- 7.212 km NNE of Cono Norte, PeruFebruary 26, 1914 · 142 km E of this epicenter
- 7.121 km SSE of Nazca, PeruJanuary 15, 1960 · 284 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.021 km SW of Santa Rita de Siguas, PeruJanuary 15, 1958 · 61 km E of this epicenter
- 6.924 km NNE of El Cardo, PeruFebruary 16, 1979 · 31 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.913 km SSW of San Juan, PeruOctober 3, 1916 · 259 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 32 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 26,545 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1868M8.5
Arica
13 Aug 1868 · 292 km away · intensity XI
25,000 deaths$300 million damagetsunami
- 1833M7.7
Peru: Tacna; Chile: Arica
18 Sep 1833 · 263 km away · intensity VIII
700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1784M8.0
Arequipa,Camana,Moquegua,Tambo
13 May 1784 · 88 km away · intensity X
383 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1821
Camana, Ocona, Caraveli
10 Jul 1821 · 60 km away · intensity VIII
162 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1913M6.3
Amyaraes, Abancay, Casaya, Soraya
4 Nov 1913 · 270 km away · intensity X
150 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1960M7.8
Arequipa,Chuquibamba,Caraveli,Cotahuasi
13 Jan 1960 · 98 km away · intensity X
63 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.