Reviewed by USGSChile18y ago
M4.2 earthquake 16 km SSW of Tocopilla, Chile
Saturday, February 2, 2008, 16:26:07 UTC · 22.230°S, 70.251°W
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 16 km SSW of Tocopilla, Chile on Saturday, February 2, 2008, 16:26:07 UTC, at a depth of 36.8 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.2
- Light · m
- Depth
- 37 km
- Shallow
- 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
30 tons of TNT
That is about 1/500 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 16 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
68 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: shallow
37 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
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 M4.4 on February 27, 2008. 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 626 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.036 km NNE of Antofagasta, ChileJuly 30, 1995 · 124 km S of this epicenter
- 7.8102 km ENE of Iquique, ChileJune 13, 2005 · 272 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.736 km ESE of Tocopilla, ChileNovember 14, 2007 · 37 km E of this epicenter
- 7.684 km SSE of Antofagasta, ChileMarch 5, 1987 · 240 km S of this epicenter
- 7.583 km NNE of Taltal, ChileJuly 13, 1936 · 277 km S of this epicenter
- 7.334 km NE of Tocopilla, ChileDecember 21, 1967 · 50 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.377 km NNE of Taltal, ChileDecember 2, 1960 · 278 km S of this epicenter
- 7.334 km S of Iquique, ChileFebruary 23, 1933 · 190 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 40 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:
- 1877M8.3
Off North Coast
10 May 1877 · 85 km away · intensity XI
2,385 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 2005M7.7
Tarapaca
13 Jun 2005 · 272 km away
11 deaths$5 million damage
- 1953M7.4
Northern
7 Dec 1953 · 160 km away
3 deaths$7 million damage
- 1995M8.0
Antofagasta, Calama, Mejillones
30 Jul 1995 · 124 km away · intensity VII
3 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 2007M7.7
Tocopilla, Maria Elena
14 Nov 2007 · 37 km away · intensity VIII
2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1967M7.5
Northern
21 Dec 1967 · 97 km away
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.