Reviewed by USGSChile46y ago
M6.1 earthquake 115 km ESE of Vallenar, Chile
Saturday, July 19, 1980, 11:52:20 UTC · 28.997°S, 69.675°W
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 115 km ESE of Vallenar, Chile on Saturday, July 19, 1980, 11:52:20 UTC, at a depth of 110.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.1 on April 28, 1979.
- Magnitude
- 6.1
- Strong · mb
- Depth
- 110 km
- Intermediate
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- IV
- Light (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
21 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 45 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
255 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and South American plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: intermediate
110 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 100 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.4 on July 27, 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 230 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.594 km ENE of Vallenar, ChileNovember 11, 1922 · 80 km N of this epicenter
- 8.145 km NNW of Illapel, ChileApril 6, 1943 · 300 km SW of this epicenter
- 8.060 km W of Diego de Almagro, ChileDecember 4, 1918 · 298 km N of this epicenter
- 7.4Atacama, ChileApril 18, 1939 · 230 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.4San Juan, ArgentinaNovember 23, 1977 · 291 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.032 km NW of Fiambalá, ArgentinaAugust 3, 1920 · 245 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.086 km NW of La Serena, ChileMarch 19, 1904 · 204 km W of this epicenter
- 7.0118 km WNW of Vallenar, ChileNovember 7, 1922 · 232 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 34 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 10,802 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1944M6.9
San Juan Province
15 Jan 1944 · 300 km away · intensity IX
10,000 deaths$100 million damage
- 1922M8.5
Atacama
11 Nov 1922 · 80 km away · intensity XI
700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1977M7.5
San Juan Province: Mendoza
23 Nov 1977 · 295 km away · intensity IX
65 deaths$80 million damage
- 1899
La Rioja
12 Apr 1899 · 130 km away · intensity VIII
11 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1943M8.2
Illapel
6 Apr 1943 · 297 km away
11 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1859M7.6
Chile
5 Oct 1859 · 195 km away · intensity X
10 deathsUnder $1 million damagetsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.