Reviewed by USGSChile18y ago
M4.1 earthquake 33 km NE of Calama, Chile
Thursday, January 24, 2008, 05:28:30 UTC · 22.259°S, 68.679°W
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck 33 km NE of Calama, Chile on Thursday, January 24, 2008, 05:28:30 UTC, at a depth of 105.7 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 4.1
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 106 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
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
84 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
106 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 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.2 on February 2, 2008. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.2Antofagasta, Chile18y ago · 27 km NW of this epicenter
- 3.468 km NNE of Calama, Chile18y ago · 43 km N of this epicenter
- 5.270 km ENE of Calama, Chile18y ago · 38 km E of this epicenter
- 3.641 km NNW of Calama, Chile18y ago · 39 km NW of this epicenter
- 3.168 km NNE of Calama, Chile18y ago · 41 km N of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 757 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 · 207 km S of this epicenter
- 8.036 km NNE of Antofagasta, ChileJuly 30, 1995 · 205 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.8102 km ENE of Iquique, ChileJune 13, 2005 · 258 km N of this epicenter
- 7.751 km W of Atocha, BoliviaNovember 29, 1957 · 250 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.736 km ESE of Tocopilla, ChileNovember 14, 2007 · 125 km W of this epicenter
- 7.684 km SSE of Antofagasta, ChileMarch 5, 1987 · 281 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.334 km NE of Tocopilla, ChileDecember 21, 1967 · 138 km W of this epicenter
- 7.334 km S of Iquique, ChileFebruary 23, 1933 · 249 km NW 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 2,410 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1877M8.3
Off North Coast
10 May 1877 · 206 km away · intensity XI
2,385 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 2005M7.7
Tarapaca
13 Jun 2005 · 258 km away
11 deaths$5 million damage
- 1953M7.4
Northern
7 Dec 1953 · 18 km away
3 deaths$7 million damage
- 1995M8.0
Antofagasta, Calama, Mejillones
30 Jul 1995 · 205 km away · intensity VII
3 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 2007M7.7
Tocopilla, Maria Elena
14 Nov 2007 · 125 km away · intensity VIII
2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1967M7.5
Northern
21 Dec 1967 · 105 km away
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.