Reviewed by USGSChile39y ago
M4.6 earthquake 105 km NE of Calama, Chile
Thursday, June 18, 1987, 08:33:06 UTC · 21.809°S, 68.175°W
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 105 km NE of Calama, Chile on Thursday, June 18, 1987, 08:33:06 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.0 on June 16, 1987.
- 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 earthquake
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
34 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Altiplano and South American 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 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 325 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.2121 km SSE of San Pedro de Atacama, ChileDecember 9, 1950 · 243 km S of this epicenter
- 7.751 km W of Atocha, BoliviaNovember 29, 1957 · 179 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3136 km WSW of Challapata, BoliviaJune 6, 1915 · 286 km N of this epicenter
- 7.334 km NE of Tocopilla, ChileDecember 21, 1967 · 184 km W of this epicenter
- 7.334 km S of Iquique, ChileFebruary 23, 1933 · 253 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.278 km SW of Colchani, BoliviaOctober 4, 1910 · 137 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.1136 km E of Iquique, ChileJune 14, 1959 · 171 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.064 km NNE of Antofagasta, ChileNovember 20, 1928 · 245 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 27 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,392 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1877M8.3
Off North Coast
10 May 1877 · 243 km away · intensity XI
2,385 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 1953M7.4
Northern
7 Dec 1953 · 63 km away
3 deaths$7 million damage
- 1967M7.5
Northern
21 Dec 1967 · 137 km away
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1976M7.3
Pozo Almonte, Oficina Victoria, Arica
30 Nov 1976 · 163 km away · intensity VIII
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1959M7.5
Bolivia-Northern Chile
14 Jun 1959 · 161 km away
1 deathLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1950M8.0
Chile-Argentina
9 Dec 1950 · 200 km away · intensity VII
1 death
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.