Reviewed by USGSArgentina19y ago
M4.8 earthquake 154 km W of San Antonio de los Cobres, Argentina
Thursday, October 4, 2007, 07:42:02 UTC · 24.443°S, 67.825°W
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 154 km W of San Antonio de los Cobres, Argentina on Thursday, October 4, 2007, 07:42:02 UTC, at a depth of 220.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.8 on August 14, 2007.
- Magnitude
- 4.8
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 220 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
239 tons of TNT
That is about 1/63 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 2 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
325 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
220 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 507 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 · 53 km N of this epicenter
- 8.036 km NNE of Antofagasta, ChileJuly 30, 1995 · 279 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.79 km SSW of Taltal, ChileDecember 28, 1966 · 296 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.684 km SSE of Antofagasta, ChileMarch 5, 1987 · 237 km W of this epicenter
- 7.583 km NNE of Taltal, ChileJuly 13, 1936 · 238 km W of this epicenter
- 7.377 km NNE of Taltal, ChileDecember 2, 1960 · 252 km W of this epicenter
- 7.275 km N of San Antonio de los Cobres, ArgentinaMay 12, 2000 · 171 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.272 km N of Taltal, ChileFebruary 5, 1988 · 266 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 14 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 41 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1930M6.1
La Poma
24 Dec 1930 · 254 km away · intensity VIII
31 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1953M7.4
Northern
7 Dec 1953 · 275 km away
3 deaths$7 million damage
- 1995M8.0
Antofagasta, Calama, Mejillones
30 Jul 1995 · 279 km away · intensity VII
3 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 1936M7.3
Taltal
13 Jul 1936 · 220 km away
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1987M7.3
Antofagasta, Arica
5 Mar 1987 · 237 km away · intensity VI
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1971M6.3
Catalina, Antofagasta
17 Jun 1971 · 182 km away · intensity V
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.