Reviewed by USGSColombia47y ago
M4.6 earthquake 116 km NW of Mosquera, Colombia
Thursday, January 3, 1980, 03:37:18 UTC · 3.195°N, 79.249°W
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 116 km NW of Mosquera, Colombia on Thursday, January 3, 1980, 03:37:18 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.9 on January 2, 1980.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 33 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
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
37 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and North Andes plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
33 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 lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.5 on January 31, 1980. 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 62 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.81906 Ecuador-Colombia EarthquakeJanuary 31, 1906 · 249 km S of this epicenter
- 7.756 km NW of Valdez, EcuadorDecember 12, 1979 · 178 km S of this epicenter
- 7.6near the coast of EcuadorJanuary 19, 1958 · 244 km S of this epicenter
- 6.951 km NW of Valdez, EcuadorFebruary 1, 1958 · 184 km S of this epicenter
- 6.824 km NNE of Esmeraldas, EcuadorJanuary 19, 1958 · 229 km S of this epicenter
- 6.830 km SE of Esmeraldas, EcuadorApril 14, 1958 · 267 km S of this epicenter
- 6.813 km N of Muisne, EcuadorJune 30, 1916 · 287 km S of this epicenter
- 6.725 km SW of Esmeraldas, EcuadorApril 9, 1976 · 275 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 9 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1,976 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1906M8.8
Off Coast
31 Jan 1906 · 249 km away · intensity IX
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1979M8.1
Off Shore, Pacific Ocean
12 Dec 1979 · 182 km away · intensity IX
600 deaths$8 million damagetsunami
- 1936M5.6
Colombia
9 Jan 1936 · 296 km away · intensity VII
250 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1958M7.6
Colombia-Ecuador
19 Jan 1958 · 191 km away · intensity IX
115 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1976M6.7
Esmeraldos
9 Apr 1976 · 275 km away
10 deaths$4 million damage
- 1973M6.5
Colombia; San Cristobal, Venezuela
24 Apr 1973 · 231 km away
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.