Reviewed by USGSChile21y ago
M4.3 earthquake 53 km NE of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
Thursday, November 17, 2005, 19:48:19 UTC · 22.542°S, 67.869°W
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 53 km NE of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile on Thursday, November 17, 2005, 19:48:19 UTC, at a depth of 138.1 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 4.3
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 138 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
43 tons of TNT
That is about 1/354 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 11 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
115 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
138 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 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.3 on December 12, 2005. 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 604 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 · 160 km S of this epicenter
- 8.036 km NNE of Antofagasta, ChileJuly 30, 1995 · 264 km W of this epicenter
- 7.751 km W of Atocha, BoliviaNovember 29, 1957 · 214 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.334 km NE of Tocopilla, ChileDecember 21, 1967 · 227 km W of this epicenter
- 7.278 km SW of Colchani, BoliviaOctober 4, 1910 · 204 km N of this epicenter
- 7.275 km N of San Antonio de los Cobres, ArgentinaMay 12, 2000 · 183 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1136 km E of Iquique, ChileJune 14, 1959 · 259 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.134 km SSE of Antofagasta, ChileJanuary 30, 1998 · 283 km SW 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 2,395 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1877M8.3
Off North Coast
10 May 1877 · 295 km away · intensity XI
2,385 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 1953M7.4
Northern
7 Dec 1953 · 99 km away
3 deaths$7 million damage
- 1995M8.0
Antofagasta, Calama, Mejillones
30 Jul 1995 · 264 km away · intensity VII
3 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 1967M7.5
Northern
21 Dec 1967 · 192 km away
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1976M7.3
Pozo Almonte, Oficina Victoria, Arica
30 Nov 1976 · 250 km away · intensity VIII
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1959M7.5
Bolivia-Northern Chile
14 Jun 1959 · 242 km away
1 deathLimited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.