M4.5 earthquake 148 km ESE of Iquique, Chile
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 148 km ESE of Iquique, Chile on Sun, Apr 30, 1978, 9:03 AM GMT-4 (13:03 UTC), 93 km (58 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.7 152 km NNE of Calama, 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), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-04-30 13:03:23 UTC
- Depth
- 93.0 km (57.8 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 20.731° S, 68.834° 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
- 16
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 3.9131 km N of Calama, Chile · 17658 days ago · 131 km deep · 61 km away
- 4.7152 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 17650 days ago · 133 km deep · 56 km away
- 4.2156 km N of Calama, Chile · 17643 days ago · 88 km deep · 39 km away
- 5.0103 km NNW of Calama, Chile · 17642 days ago · 102 km deep · 97 km away
- 4.9149 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 17617 days ago · 127 km deep · 58 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000uba. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:58 AM UTC.