Reviewed by USGSChile30y ago
M3.9 earthquake 122 km NE of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
Tuesday, February 11, 1997, 13:59:14 UTC · 22.158°S, 67.327°W
A magnitude 3.9 earthquake struck 122 km NE of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile on Tuesday, February 11, 1997, 13:59:14 UTC, at a depth of 194.9 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 3.9
- Minor · mb
- Depth
- 195 km
- Intermediate
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
11 tons of TNT
That is about 1/1,410 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 45 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
73 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: intermediate
195 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 50 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.1 on March 12, 1997. 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 431 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 · 211 km S of this epicenter
- 7.751 km W of Atocha, BoliviaNovember 29, 1957 · 149 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.334 km NE of Tocopilla, ChileDecember 21, 1967 · 273 km W of this epicenter
- 7.278 km SW of Colchani, BoliviaOctober 4, 1910 · 160 km N of this epicenter
- 7.1136 km E of Iquique, ChileJune 14, 1959 · 251 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.116 km NW of Villazón, BoliviaJanuary 23, 1997 · 167 km E of this epicenter
- 7.069 km NW of Camargo, BoliviaMay 17, 1909 · 265 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.087 km W of Abra Pampa, ArgentinaMay 24, 1993 · 99 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 14 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 7 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1953M7.4
Northern
7 Dec 1953 · 142 km away
3 deaths$7 million damage
- 1967M7.5
Northern
21 Dec 1967 · 230 km away
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1976M7.3
Pozo Almonte, Oficina Victoria, Arica
30 Nov 1976 · 246 km away · intensity VIII
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1959M7.5
Bolivia-Northern Chile
14 Jun 1959 · 211 km away
1 deathLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1950M8.0
Chile-Argentina
9 Dec 1950 · 150 km away · intensity VII
1 death
- 1959M6.6
Salta
12 May 1959 · 268 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.