M6.1 earthquake 134 km NNE of Calama, Chile

Saturday, February 16, 2008, 14:45:11 UTC · 21.346°S, 68.385°W

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 134 km NNE of Calama, Chile on Saturday, February 16, 2008, 14:45:11 UTC, at a depth of 130.1 km (intermediate). USGS received 6 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of IV (light). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.3 on February 4, 2008.

Magnitude: 6.1; Strong · mwb
Depth: 130 km; Intermediate
Felt reports: 6; Max intensity IV
Est. shaking: IV; Light (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

21 kilotons of TNT

That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 45 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

17 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

130 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

Reports sent by people to USGS, grouped by place (most reports first). Intensity uses the Modified Mercalli scale (I–X): what people felt, not the magnitude.

Place	Intensity	Reports	Distance
Calama, Antofagasta, Chile	IV · Light	4	186 km
Iquique, Tarapacá, Chile	IV · Light	1	256 km
La Serena, Coquimbo, Chile	II · Weak	1	998 km

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 100 km

USGS lists 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.4 on February 18, 2008. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 653 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 39 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 · 220 km away · intensity XI
2,385 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
2005M7.7
Tarapaca
13 Jun 2005 · 173 km away
11 deaths$5 million damage
1953M7.4
Northern
7 Dec 1953 · 90 km away
3 deaths$7 million damage
1995M8.0
Antofagasta, Calama, Mejillones
30 Jul 1995 · 296 km away · intensity VII
3 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
2007M7.7
Tocopilla, Maria Elena
14 Nov 2007 · 185 km away · intensity VIII
2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1967M7.5
Northern
21 Dec 1967 · 122 km away
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers