Reviewed by USGSPeru48y ago
M5.1 earthquake 13 km SSW of Lluta, Peru
Wednesday, March 7, 1979, 06:21:11 UTC · 16.134°S, 72.039°W
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 13 km SSW of Lluta, Peru on Wednesday, March 7, 1979, 06:21:11 UTC, at a depth of 126.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.2 on February 20, 1979.
- Magnitude
- 5.1
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 126 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
674 tons of TNT
That is about 1/22 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
230 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
126 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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 93 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.737 km SSW of Atico, PeruAugust 6, 1913 · 187 km W of this epicenter
- 7.235 km N of El Cardo, PeruOctober 11, 1922 · 73 km W of this epicenter
- 7.212 km NNE of Cono Norte, PeruFebruary 26, 1914 · 52 km E of this epicenter
- 7.021 km SW of Santa Rita de Siguas, PeruJanuary 15, 1958 · 59 km S of this epicenter
- 6.924 km NNE of El Cardo, PeruFebruary 16, 1979 · 72 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.913 km SSW of San Juan, PeruOctober 3, 1916 · 283 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.882 km SW of Islay (Matarani), PeruJanuary 6, 1922 · 168 km S of this epicenter
- 6.7103 km SSW of Atico, PeruSeptember 13, 1919 · 236 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 38 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 26,909 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1868M8.5
Arica
13 Aug 1868 · 296 km away · intensity XI
25,000 deaths$300 million damagetsunami
- 1833M7.7
Peru: Tacna; Chile: Arica
18 Sep 1833 · 260 km away · intensity VIII
700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1784M8.0
Arequipa,Camana,Moquegua,Tambo
13 May 1784 · 41 km away · intensity X
383 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1821
Camana, Ocona, Caraveli
10 Jul 1821 · 99 km away · intensity VIII
162 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1707M5.8
Cuzco
17 Sep 1707 · 248 km away · intensity X
160 deaths
- 1913M6.3
Amyaraes, Abancay, Casaya, Soraya
4 Nov 1913 · 234 km away · intensity X
150 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.