M5.0 earthquake 83 km NW of Copiapó, Chile
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 83 km NW of Copiapó, Chile on Tue, Sep 18, 1973, 10:07 AM GMT-4 (14:07 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.2 73 km WNW of Copiapó, Chile. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.0 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1973-09-18 14:07:09 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 26.879° S, 70.971° W
- Region
- Chile
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
- Stations used
- 23
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.273 km WNW of Copiapó, Chile · 19362 days ago · 33 km deep · 21 km away
- 4.995 km NW of Copiapó, Chile · 19350 days ago · 33 km deep · 13 km away
- 4.779 km NW of Copiapó, Chile · 19350 days ago · 33 km deep · 5 km away
- 4.678 km NW of Copiapó, Chile · 19337 days ago · 33 km deep · 5 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00003fn. Read Sun, Sep 27, 2026, 6:12 PM UTC.