Reviewed by USGSEcuador19y ago
M4.5 earthquake 44 km E of Puyo, Ecuador
Monday, December 3, 2007, 03:09:27 UTC · 1.501°S, 77.599°W
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 44 km E of Puyo, Ecuador on Monday, December 3, 2007, 03:09:27 UTC, at a depth of 188.8 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.8 on November 16, 2007.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 189 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
85 tons of TNT
That is about 1/178 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 6 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
116 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North Andes and South American plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: intermediate
189 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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.5 on December 24, 2007. 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 167 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.498 km ESE of Sucúa, EcuadorJuly 27, 1971 · 152 km S of this epicenter
- 7.229 km SSE of Pimampiro, EcuadorMarch 6, 1987 · 185 km N of this epicenter
- 7.045 km SE of Sucúa, EcuadorOctober 3, 1995 · 142 km S of this epicenter
- 6.8109 km W of Alianza Cristiana, PeruNovember 23, 1986 · 206 km S of this epicenter
- 6.830 km E of Macas, EcuadorNovember 16, 2007 · 94 km S of this epicenter
- 6.764 km WSW of Alianza Cristiana, PeruMay 2, 1995 · 266 km S of this epicenter
- 6.737 km E of Palora, EcuadorMay 17, 1971 · 16 km S of this epicenter
- 6.655 km ENE of Macas, EcuadorMay 10, 1963 · 76 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 33 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 122,653 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1868M7.7
Guayaquil,Ibarra; Colombia: San Pablo
16 Aug 1868 · 211 km away · intensity X
70,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1797M8.3
Riobamba, Quito, Cuzco; Peru; Colombia
4 Feb 1797 · 120 km away · intensity XI
40,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1949M6.5
Tungurahua
5 Aug 1949 · 84 km away
6,000 deaths$8 million damage
- 1987M7.2
Napo Province, Quito, Tulcan
6 Mar 1987 · 177 km away
5,000 deaths$1.5 billion damage
- 1757M7.0
Cotopaxi,Tungurahua, Latacunga
22 Feb 1757 · 130 km away · intensity IX
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1923M6.2
Ipiales
14 Dec 1923 · 264 km away · intensity IX
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.