Reviewed by USGSArgentina28y ago
M4.1 earthquake 13 km NNE of Caucete, Argentina
Thursday, October 22, 1998, 01:48:11 UTC · 31.529°S, 68.248°W
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck 13 km NNE of Caucete, Argentina on Thursday, October 22, 1998, 01:48:11 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.1
- Light · md
- 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
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
419 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: 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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M3.3 on November 12, 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 246 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.145 km NNW of Illapel, ChileApril 6, 1943 · 298 km W of this epicenter
- 7.47 km SSE of La Ligua, ChileMarch 28, 1965 · 300 km W of this epicenter
- 7.4San Juan, ArgentinaNovember 23, 1977 · 72 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.136 km SW of Monte Patria, ChileOctober 15, 1997 · 290 km W of this epicenter
- 6.94 km ESE of Chimbas, ArgentinaJanuary 15, 1944 · 23 km W of this epicenter
- 6.972 km WNW of Calingasta, ArgentinaJuly 27, 1917 · 183 km W of this epicenter
- 6.88 km W of Nueve de Julio, ArgentinaJune 11, 1952 · 27 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.726 km S of Nueve de Julio, ArgentinaDecember 17, 1920 · 45 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 21 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 24,972 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1861
Mendoza, San Luiz
20 Mar 1861 · 151 km away · intensity IX
14,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1944M6.9
San Juan Province
15 Jan 1944 · 23 km away · intensity IX
10,000 deaths$100 million damage
- 1965M7.3
Central
28 Mar 1965 · 295 km away
400 deaths$125 million damage
- 1920M6.7
Mendoza
17 Dec 1920 · 45 km away · intensity VIII
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1971M7.8
Central
9 Jul 1971 · 299 km away · intensity IX
83 deaths$236 million damagetsunami
- 1977M7.5
San Juan Province: Mendoza
23 Nov 1977 · 60 km away · intensity IX
65 deaths$80 million damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.