QuakeScout
Magnitude4.6

Reviewed by USGSChile31y ago

M4.6 earthquake 61 km N of Taltal, Chile

Thursday, September 7, 1995, 12:55:03 UTC · 24.854°S, 70.571°W

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 61 km N of Taltal, Chile on Thursday, September 7, 1995, 12:55:03 UTC, at a depth of 56.9 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.6 on August 20, 1995.

Magnitude
4.6
Light · mb
Depth
57 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

94 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and South American plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: shallow

57 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 364 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.2121 km SSE of San Pedro de Atacama, ChileDecember 9, 1950 · 286 km E of this epicenter
  2. 8.060 km W of Diego de Almagro, ChileDecember 4, 1918 · 179 km S of this epicenter
  3. 8.036 km NNE of Antofagasta, ChileJuly 30, 1995 · 171 km N of this epicenter
  4. 7.79 km SSW of Taltal, ChileDecember 28, 1966 · 71 km S of this epicenter
  5. 7.684 km SSE of Antofagasta, ChileMarch 5, 1987 · 66 km NE of this epicenter
  6. 7.583 km NNE of Taltal, ChileJuly 13, 1936 · 45 km E of this epicenter
  7. 7.550 km WNW of Diego de Almagro, ChileJune 8, 1909 · 145 km S of this epicenter
  8. 7.4Atacama, ChileApril 18, 1939 · 265 km S of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 31 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 26 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1859M7.6

    Chile

    5 Oct 1859 · 278 km away · intensity X

    10 deathsUnder $1 million damagetsunami

  2. 1983M7.3

    Northern: Copoapo-Chanaral

    4 Oct 1983 · 187 km away · intensity VII

    5 deaths$1 million damagetsunami

  3. 1995M8.0

    Antofagasta, Calama, Mejillones

    30 Jul 1995 · 171 km away · intensity VII

    3 deaths$2 million damagetsunami

  4. 1966M7.8

    Taltal, Catalina

    28 Dec 1966 · 73 km away · intensity VIII

    3 deathsUnder $1 million damagetsunami

  5. 1946M7.9

    Northern

    2 Aug 1946 · 183 km away

    2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  6. 1936M7.3

    Taltal

    13 Jul 1936 · 70 km away

    1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

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