M5.3 earthquake 40 km NE of Caucete, Argentina

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 40 km NE of Caucete, Argentina on Sat, Dec 10, 1977, 5:36 AM GMT-3 (08:36 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.8 56 km NE of Caucete, Argentina. This one was a foreshock.

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.	Scale	Computed by	Notes
5.3	mb, body-wave	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed
5.35	Mw, moment	ISC-GEM global catalog	Final · ±0.2

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 15 in the 60 days after this one and 88 in the 30 days before it.

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000s0d (also filed as iscgem688938). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 3:31 AM UTC.