QuakeScout
Magnitude3.6

Reviewed by USGSChile18y ago

M3.6 earthquake 136 km E of Iquique, Chile

Tuesday, July 8, 2008, 00:21:01 UTC · 20.426°S, 68.861°W

A magnitude 3.6 earthquake struck 136 km E of Iquique, Chile on Tuesday, July 8, 2008, 00:21:01 UTC, at a depth of 57.9 km (shallow).

Magnitude
3.6
Minor · mb
Depth
58 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

4 tons of TNT

That is about 1/3,975 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 126 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

119 km

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

Depth: shallow

58 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 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.3 on July 17, 2008. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M3M41h6h1d3d7d14d30dMainshock M3.6
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 3.9170 km WSW of Colchani, Bolivia18y ago · 46 km SE of this epicenter
  2. 4.3161 km ESE of Iquique, Chile18y ago · 32 km SE of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 540 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.8102 km ENE of Iquique, ChileJune 13, 2005 · 60 km NW of this epicenter
  2. 7.751 km W of Atocha, BoliviaNovember 29, 1957 · 231 km E of this epicenter
  3. 7.736 km ESE of Tocopilla, ChileNovember 14, 2007 · 229 km SW of this epicenter
  4. 7.3136 km WSW of Challapata, BoliviaJune 6, 1915 · 159 km NE of this epicenter
  5. 7.334 km NE of Tocopilla, ChileDecember 21, 1967 · 197 km SW of this epicenter
  6. 7.334 km S of Iquique, ChileFebruary 23, 1933 · 139 km W of this epicenter
  7. 7.2Near the coast of Tarapaca, ChileOctober 4, 1940 · 171 km W of this epicenter
  8. 7.278 km SW of Colchani, BoliviaOctober 4, 1910 · 143 km E of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 46 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,409 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1877M8.3

    Off North Coast

    10 May 1877 · 208 km away · intensity XI

    2,385 deaths$2 million damagetsunami

  2. 2005M7.7

    Tarapaca

    13 Jun 2005 · 60 km away

    11 deaths$5 million damage

  3. 1987M6.9

    Arica, Iquique

    8 Aug 1987 · 196 km away · intensity VII

    5 deaths$1 million damage

  4. 1953M7.4

    Northern

    7 Dec 1953 · 187 km away

    3 deaths$7 million damage

  5. 2007M7.7

    Tocopilla, Maria Elena

    14 Nov 2007 · 229 km away · intensity VIII

    2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  6. 1967M7.5

    Northern

    21 Dec 1967 · 156 km away

    1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers

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