Reviewed by USGSColombia47y ago
M4.6 earthquake 42 km NW of Mosquera, Colombia
Sunday, January 6, 1980, 04:00:13 UTC · 2.776°N, 78.725°W
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 42 km NW of Mosquera, Colombia on Sunday, January 6, 1980, 04:00:13 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.6 on January 3, 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
38 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 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.0 on January 7, 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 64 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 · 215 km S of this epicenter
- 7.756 km NW of Valdez, EcuadorDecember 12, 1979 · 149 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.6near the coast of EcuadorJanuary 19, 1958 · 214 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.951 km NW of Valdez, EcuadorFebruary 1, 1958 · 153 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.824 km NNE of Esmeraldas, EcuadorJanuary 19, 1958 · 202 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.830 km SE of Esmeraldas, EcuadorApril 14, 1958 · 233 km S of this epicenter
- 6.813 km N of Muisne, EcuadorJune 30, 1916 · 269 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.725 km SW of Esmeraldas, EcuadorApril 9, 1976 · 252 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 23 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 72,536 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1868M7.7
Guayaquil,Ibarra; Colombia: San Pablo
16 Aug 1868 · 281 km away · intensity X
70,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1906M8.8
Off Coast
31 Jan 1906 · 215 km away · intensity IX
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1979M8.1
Off Shore, Pacific Ocean
12 Dec 1979 · 149 km away · intensity IX
600 deaths$8 million damagetsunami
- 1923M6.2
Ipiales
14 Dec 1923 · 237 km away · intensity IX
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1827M7.0
Bogota, Neiva, Popayan, Pasto, Huila
16 Nov 1827 · 280 km away · intensity XI
250 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1936M5.6
Colombia
9 Jan 1936 · 224 km away · intensity VII
250 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.