Reviewed by USGSChile18y ago
M3.9 earthquake 148 km N of Calama, Chile
Tuesday, September 30, 2008, 12:17:34 UTC · 21.118°S, 68.898°W
A magnitude 3.9 earthquake struck 148 km N of Calama, Chile on Tuesday, September 30, 2008, 12:17:34 UTC, at a depth of 134.4 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 3.9
- Minor · md
- Depth
- 134 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
42 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
134 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 M4.2 on October 14, 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 635 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.036 km NNE of Antofagasta, ChileJuly 30, 1995 · 286 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.8102 km ENE of Iquique, ChileJune 13, 2005 · 130 km N of this epicenter
- 7.751 km W of Atocha, BoliviaNovember 29, 1957 · 228 km E of this epicenter
- 7.736 km ESE of Tocopilla, ChileNovember 14, 2007 · 162 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.3136 km WSW of Challapata, BoliviaJune 6, 1915 · 228 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.334 km NE of Tocopilla, ChileDecember 21, 1967 · 138 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.334 km S of Iquique, ChileFebruary 23, 1933 · 150 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.2Near the coast of Tarapaca, ChileOctober 4, 1940 · 203 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 2,412 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1877M8.3
Off North Coast
10 May 1877 · 171 km away · intensity XI
2,385 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 2005M7.7
Tarapaca
13 Jun 2005 · 130 km away
11 deaths$5 million damage
- 1987M6.9
Arica, Iquique
8 Aug 1987 · 260 km away · intensity VII
5 deaths$1 million damage
- 1953M7.4
Northern
7 Dec 1953 · 111 km away
3 deaths$7 million damage
- 1995M8.0
Antofagasta, Calama, Mejillones
30 Jul 1995 · 286 km away · intensity VII
3 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 2007M7.7
Tocopilla, Maria Elena
14 Nov 2007 · 162 km away · intensity VIII
2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.