Reviewed by USGSChile29y ago
M4.1 earthquake 106 km ENE of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
Wednesday, March 12, 1997, 13:50:06 UTC · 22.421°S, 67.314°W
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck 106 km ENE of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile on Wednesday, March 12, 1997, 13:50:06 UTC, at a depth of 171.9 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 4.1
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 172 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
21 tons of TNT
That is about 1/707 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 22 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
102 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Altiplano and South American plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: intermediate
172 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 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 425 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 · 183 km S of this epicenter
- 7.751 km W of Atocha, BoliviaNovember 29, 1957 · 175 km N of this epicenter
- 7.334 km NE of Tocopilla, ChileDecember 21, 1967 · 279 km W of this epicenter
- 7.278 km SW of Colchani, BoliviaOctober 4, 1910 · 189 km N of this epicenter
- 7.1136 km E of Iquique, ChileJune 14, 1959 · 275 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.116 km NW of Villazón, BoliviaJanuary 23, 1997 · 171 km E of this epicenter
- 7.064 km NNE of Antofagasta, ChileNovember 20, 1928 · 293 km W of this epicenter
- 7.069 km NW of Camargo, BoliviaMay 17, 1909 · 288 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 13 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 · 147 km away
3 deaths$7 million damage
- 1967M7.5
Northern
21 Dec 1967 · 239 km away
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1976M7.3
Pozo Almonte, Oficina Victoria, Arica
30 Nov 1976 · 269 km away · intensity VIII
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1959M7.5
Bolivia-Northern Chile
14 Jun 1959 · 239 km away
1 deathLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1950M8.0
Chile-Argentina
9 Dec 1950 · 121 km away · intensity VII
1 death
- 1959M6.6
Salta
12 May 1959 · 257 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.