M4.5 earthquake 40 km WSW of Coquimbo, Chile
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 40 km WSW of Coquimbo, Chile on Sat, Sep 16, 1978, 7:39 PM GMT-4 (23:39 UTC), 49 km (30 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.0 50 km WSW of Coquimbo, Chile. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.5 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-09-16 23:39:59 UTC
- Depth
- 49.0 km (30.4 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 30.132° S, 71.710° 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.
- Stations used
- 33
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000wk9. Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 10:48 PM UTC.