Reviewed by USGSChile18y ago
M3.9 earthquake 111 km N of Calama, Chile
Saturday, May 10, 2008, 20:06:00 UTC · 21.465°S, 68.728°W
A magnitude 3.9 earthquake struck 111 km N of Calama, Chile on Saturday, May 10, 2008, 20:06:00 UTC, at a depth of 151.1 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 3.9
- Minor · m
- Depth
- 151 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
11 tons of TNT
That is about 1/1,410 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 45 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
4 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
151 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 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.3 on May 28, 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 673 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 · 292 km S of this epicenter
- 8.036 km NNE of Antofagasta, ChileJuly 30, 1995 · 263 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.8102 km ENE of Iquique, ChileJune 13, 2005 · 171 km N of this epicenter
- 7.751 km W of Atocha, BoliviaNovember 29, 1957 · 217 km E of this epicenter
- 7.736 km ESE of Tocopilla, ChileNovember 14, 2007 · 148 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.3136 km WSW of Challapata, BoliviaJune 6, 1915 · 258 km N of this epicenter
- 7.334 km NE of Tocopilla, ChileDecember 21, 1967 · 135 km W of this epicenter
- 7.334 km S of Iquique, ChileFebruary 23, 1933 · 185 km NW 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 · 183 km away · intensity XI
2,385 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 2005M7.7
Tarapaca
13 Jun 2005 · 171 km away
11 deaths$5 million damage
- 1953M7.4
Northern
7 Dec 1953 · 71 km away
3 deaths$7 million damage
- 1995M8.0
Antofagasta, Calama, Mejillones
30 Jul 1995 · 263 km away · intensity VII
3 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 2007M7.7
Tocopilla, Maria Elena
14 Nov 2007 · 148 km away · intensity VIII
2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1967M7.5
Northern
21 Dec 1967 · 84 km away
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.