QuakeScout
Magnitude4.3

Reviewed by USGSChile18y ago

M4.3 earthquake 75 km NE of Antofagasta, Chile

Friday, March 7, 2008, 10:43:48 UTC · 23.110°S, 69.941°W

A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 75 km NE of Antofagasta, Chile on Friday, March 7, 2008, 10:43:48 UTC, at a depth of 39.6 km (shallow).

Magnitude
4.3
Light · md
Depth
40 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 earthquake

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

43 tons of TNT

That is about 1/354 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 11 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

146 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and South American plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

Depth: shallow

40 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 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 621 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.2121 km SSE of San Pedro de Atacama, ChileDecember 9, 1950 · 228 km SE of this epicenter
  2. 8.036 km NNE of Antofagasta, ChileJuly 30, 1995 · 44 km SW of this epicenter
  3. 7.736 km ESE of Tocopilla, ChileNovember 14, 2007 · 96 km N of this epicenter
  4. 7.79 km SSW of Taltal, ChileDecember 28, 1966 · 271 km S of this epicenter
  5. 7.684 km SSE of Antofagasta, ChileMarch 5, 1987 · 144 km S of this epicenter
  6. 7.583 km NNE of Taltal, ChileJuly 13, 1936 · 180 km S of this epicenter
  7. 7.334 km NE of Tocopilla, ChileDecember 21, 1967 · 137 km N of this epicenter
  8. 7.377 km NNE of Taltal, ChileDecember 2, 1960 · 184 km S of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 28 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,401 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1877M8.3

    Off North Coast

    10 May 1877 · 188 km away · intensity XI

    2,385 deaths$2 million damagetsunami

  2. 1953M7.4

    Northern

    7 Dec 1953 · 170 km away

    3 deaths$7 million damage

  3. 1995M8.0

    Antofagasta, Calama, Mejillones

    30 Jul 1995 · 44 km away · intensity VII

    3 deaths$2 million damagetsunami

  4. 1966M7.8

    Taltal, Catalina

    28 Dec 1966 · 277 km away · intensity VIII

    3 deathsUnder $1 million damagetsunami

  5. 2007M7.7

    Tocopilla, Maria Elena

    14 Nov 2007 · 96 km away · intensity VIII

    2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  6. 1967M7.5

    Northern

    21 Dec 1967 · 163 km away

    1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

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

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