QuakeScout
Magnitude3.7

Reviewed by USGSChile20y ago

M3.7 earthquake 41 km ENE of Calama, Chile

Saturday, February 4, 2006, 05:52:45 UTC · 22.266°S, 68.581°W

A magnitude 3.7 earthquake struck 41 km ENE of Calama, Chile on Saturday, February 4, 2006, 05:52:45 UTC, at a depth of 100.0 km (intermediate).

Magnitude
3.7
Minor · md
Depth
100 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

5 tons of TNT

That is about 1/2,814 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 89 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

85 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

100 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 670 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.2121 km SSE of San Pedro de Atacama, ChileDecember 9, 1950 · 202 km S of this epicenter
  2. 8.036 km NNE of Antofagasta, ChileJuly 30, 1995 · 212 km SW of this epicenter
  3. 7.8102 km ENE of Iquique, ChileJune 13, 2005 · 261 km N of this epicenter
  4. 7.751 km W of Atocha, BoliviaNovember 29, 1957 · 242 km NE of this epicenter
  5. 7.684 km SSE of Antofagasta, ChileMarch 5, 1987 · 286 km SW of this epicenter
  6. 7.334 km NE of Tocopilla, ChileDecember 21, 1967 · 148 km W of this epicenter
  7. 7.334 km S of Iquique, ChileFebruary 23, 1933 · 256 km NW of this epicenter
  8. 7.278 km SW of Colchani, BoliviaOctober 4, 1910 · 202 km NE of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 32 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,408 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1877M8.3

    Off North Coast

    10 May 1877 · 216 km away · intensity XI

    2,385 deaths$2 million damagetsunami

  2. 2005M7.7

    Tarapaca

    13 Jun 2005 · 261 km away

    11 deaths$5 million damage

  3. 1953M7.4

    Northern

    7 Dec 1953 · 22 km away

    3 deaths$7 million damage

  4. 1995M8.0

    Antofagasta, Calama, Mejillones

    30 Jul 1995 · 212 km away · intensity VII

    3 deaths$2 million damagetsunami

  5. 1967M7.5

    Northern

    21 Dec 1967 · 114 km away

    1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  6. 1936M7.3

    Taltal

    13 Jul 1936 · 288 km away

    1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers

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