QuakeScout
Magnitude4.7

Reviewed by USGSChile18y ago

M4.7 earthquake 121 km NE of Calama, Chile

Saturday, July 26, 2008, 17:39:29 UTC · 21.561°S, 68.237°W

A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 121 km NE of Calama, Chile on Saturday, July 26, 2008, 17:39:29 UTC, at a depth of 136.8 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.2 on July 25, 2008.

Magnitude
4.7
Light · mb
Depth
137 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 earthquake

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

169 tons of TNT

That is about 1/89 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 3 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

7 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

137 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 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 662 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 · 271 km S of this epicenter
  2. 8.036 km NNE of Antofagasta, ChileJuly 30, 1995 · 290 km SW of this epicenter
  3. 7.8102 km ENE of Iquique, ChileJune 13, 2005 · 201 km NW of this epicenter
  4. 7.751 km W of Atocha, BoliviaNovember 29, 1957 · 172 km NE of this epicenter
  5. 7.736 km ESE of Tocopilla, ChileNovember 14, 2007 · 187 km SW of this epicenter
  6. 7.3136 km WSW of Challapata, BoliviaJune 6, 1915 · 259 km N of this epicenter
  7. 7.334 km NE of Tocopilla, ChileDecember 21, 1967 · 181 km W of this epicenter
  8. 7.334 km S of Iquique, ChileFebruary 23, 1933 · 234 km NW of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 37 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:

  1. 1877M8.3

    Off North Coast

    10 May 1877 · 234 km away · intensity XI

    2,385 deaths$2 million damagetsunami

  2. 2005M7.7

    Tarapaca

    13 Jun 2005 · 201 km away

    11 deaths$5 million damage

  3. 1953M7.4

    Northern

    7 Dec 1953 · 77 km away

    3 deaths$7 million damage

  4. 1995M8.0

    Antofagasta, Calama, Mejillones

    30 Jul 1995 · 290 km away · intensity VII

    3 deaths$2 million damagetsunami

  5. 2007M7.7

    Tocopilla, Maria Elena

    14 Nov 2007 · 187 km away · intensity VIII

    2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  6. 1967M7.5

    Northern

    21 Dec 1967 · 131 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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