Reviewed by USGSChile28y ago
M2.9 earthquake 20 km WNW of Graneros, Chile
Wednesday, June 3, 1998, 13:41:56 UTC · 33.976°S, 70.916°W
A magnitude 2.9 earthquake struck 20 km WNW of Graneros, Chile on Wednesday, June 3, 1998, 13:41:56 UTC, at a depth of 70.6 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 2.9
- Minor · md
- Depth
- 71 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
338 kg of TNT
That is about 1/44,601 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1,413 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
187 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and South American plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: intermediate
71 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 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.2 on June 11, 1998. 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 359 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.2The 1906 Valparaiso, Chile EarthquakeAugust 17, 1906 · 181 km N of this epicenter
- 8.025 km WSW of Valparaíso, ChileMarch 3, 1985 · 129 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.826 km WNW of San Carlos, ChileJanuary 25, 1939 · 284 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.819 km NNE of Hacienda La Calera, ChileJuly 9, 1971 · 153 km N of this epicenter
- 7.730 km NNE of Constitución, ChileDecember 1, 1928 · 175 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.7103 km NW of Constitución, ChileJanuary 30, 1914 · 236 km W of this epicenter
- 7.47 km SSE of La Ligua, ChileMarch 28, 1965 · 165 km N of this epicenter
- 7.419 km S of Valparaíso, ChileMarch 4, 1985 · 110 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 39 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 49,041 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1939M8.3
Chillan
25 Jan 1939 · 280 km away · intensity X
30,000 deaths$920 million damagetsunami
- 1861
Mendoza, San Luiz
20 Mar 1861 · 236 km away · intensity IX
14,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1906M8.2
South Central
17 Aug 1906 · 148 km away · intensity XI
4,000 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1965M7.3
Central
28 Mar 1965 · 177 km away
400 deaths$125 million damage
- 1928M7.6
Talca, Chillan, Santiago, San Fernando
1 Dec 1928 · 151 km away · intensity IX
279 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1985M8.0
Central Coast, San Antonio, Valparaiso
3 Mar 1985 · 119 km away · intensity VIII
180 deaths$1.5 billion damagetsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.