Reviewed by USGSMexico30y ago
M3.4 earthquake 56 km SSW of Palos Blancos, Mexico
Wednesday, January 29, 1997, 12:02:29 UTC · 17.076°N, 101.512°W
A magnitude 3.4 earthquake struck 56 km SSW of Palos Blancos, Mexico on Wednesday, January 29, 1997, 12:02:29 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.4
- Minor · 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
2 tons of TNT
That is about 1/7,931 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 251 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
13 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
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 182 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 · 164 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.621 km ESE of Coalcomán de Vázquez Pallares, MexicoApril 15, 1941 · 237 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.68 km ENE of Apantla, MexicoJuly 28, 1957 · 257 km E of this epicenter
- 7.619 km W of Arteaga, MexicoJune 7, 1911 · 175 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.612 km SSE of Vallecitos de Zaragoza, MexicoMarch 14, 1979 · 86 km N of this epicenter
- 7.67 km N of Pantla, MexicoSeptember 21, 1985 · 82 km N of this epicenter
- 7.525 km S of Tetitlán, MexicoDecember 16, 1911 · 91 km E of this epicenter
- 7.527 km SSE of San Andrés Playa Encantada (El Podrido), MexicoJuly 30, 1909 · 222 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 47 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 9,839 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1985M8.1
Michoacan: Mexico City
19 Sep 1985 · 164 km away · intensity IX
9,500 deaths$4.0 billion damagetsunami
- 1941M7.6
Michoacan, Colima, Jalisco
15 Apr 1941 · 237 km away · intensity VII
84 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 1964M7.3
Guerrero
6 Jul 1964 · 152 km away
78 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1957M7.9
Acapulco,Mexico City
28 Jul 1957 · 265 km away · intensity VII
65 deaths$25 million damagetsunami
- 1973M7.5
S, Farias, Tecoman
30 Jan 1973 · 222 km away
56 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1864M7.0
Puebla,Veracruz,Acultzingo,Acatzingo
3 Oct 1864 · 157 km away
20 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.