Reviewed by USGSMexico41y ago
M4.2 earthquake 11 km NE of San Miguelito, Mexico
Sunday, November 3, 1985, 07:52:40 UTC · 17.713°N, 101.371°W
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 11 km NE of San Miguelito, Mexico on Sunday, November 3, 1985, 07:52:40 UTC, at a depth of 53.2 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.2
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 53 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
30 tons of TNT
That is about 1/500 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 16 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
83 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Cocos and North American plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
53 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 138 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.01985 Michoacan, Mexico EarthquakeSeptember 19, 1985 · 134 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.87 km E of Los Tepames, MexicoJune 18, 1932 · 276 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.621 km ESE of Coalcomán de Vázquez Pallares, MexicoApril 15, 1941 · 202 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.68 km ENE of Apantla, MexicoJuly 28, 1957 · 253 km E of this epicenter
- 7.619 km W of Arteaga, MexicoJune 7, 1911 · 137 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.612 km SSE of Vallecitos de Zaragoza, MexicoMarch 14, 1979 · 15 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.67 km N of Pantla, MexicoSeptember 21, 1985 · 31 km W of this epicenter
- 7.525 km S of Tetitlán, MexicoDecember 16, 1911 · 115 km SE 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 12,037 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1985M8.1
Michoacan: Mexico City
19 Sep 1985 · 134 km away · intensity IX
9,500 deaths$4.0 billion damagetsunami
- 1806M7.5
Jalisco,Oaxaca,Michoacan
25 Mar 1806 · 288 km away · intensity VIII
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1912M6.7
Central, Acambay, Tixmadeje
19 Nov 1912 · 258 km away
202 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1941M7.6
Michoacan, Colima, Jalisco
15 Apr 1941 · 202 km away · intensity VII
84 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 1964M7.3
Guerrero
6 Jul 1964 · 94 km away
78 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1957M7.9
Acapulco,Mexico City
28 Jul 1957 · 276 km away · intensity VII
65 deaths$25 million damagetsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.