Reviewed by USGSMexico48y ago
M5.1 earthquake 23 km W of Vallecitos de Zaragoza, Mexico
Thursday, March 22, 1979, 12:23:16 UTC · 17.961°N, 101.540°W
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 23 km W of Vallecitos de Zaragoza, Mexico on Thursday, March 22, 1979, 12:23:16 UTC, at a depth of 76.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.4 on March 18, 1979.
- Magnitude
- 5.1
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 76 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
103 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Cocos and North American plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: intermediate
76 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 112 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.87 km E of Los Tepames, MexicoJune 18, 1932 · 246 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.621 km ESE of Coalcomán de Vázquez Pallares, MexicoApril 15, 1941 · 173 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.68 km ENE of Apantla, MexicoJuly 28, 1957 · 278 km E of this epicenter
- 7.619 km W of Arteaga, MexicoJune 7, 1911 · 108 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.612 km SSE of Vallecitos de Zaragoza, MexicoMarch 14, 1979 · 32 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.525 km S of Tetitlán, MexicoDecember 16, 1911 · 147 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.527 km SSE of San Andrés Playa Encantada (El Podrido), MexicoJuly 30, 1909 · 271 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.535 km SW of Aguililla, MexicoJanuary 30, 1973 · 164 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 56 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 4,527 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1806M7.5
Jalisco,Oaxaca,Michoacan
25 Mar 1806 · 260 km away · intensity VIII
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1818M8.2
Morelos-Guerrero,Mexico City,Guadalajara
31 May 1818 · 283 km away · intensity X
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1912M6.7
Central, Acambay, Tixmadeje
19 Nov 1912 · 249 km away
202 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1941M7.6
Michoacan, Colima, Jalisco
15 Apr 1941 · 173 km away · intensity VII
84 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 1964M7.3
Guerrero
6 Jul 1964 · 101 km away
78 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1847
Jalisco,Oaxaca,Michoacan
2 Oct 1847 · 300 km away · intensity IX
58 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.