M4.6 earthquake 14 km NNW of La Serena, Chile
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 14 km NNW of La Serena, Chile on Mon, Dec 25, 1978, 11:50 AM GMT-3 (14:50 UTC), 49 km (30 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.1 35 km NNW of La Serena, Chile. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.6 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-12-25 14:50:49 UTC
- Depth
- 49.0 km (30.4 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 29.776° S, 71.283° 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
- CONSTRAINED_BY_DEPTH_PHASES
- Stations used
- 40
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.6 and up: 1 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 usp0000y3w. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:21 AM UTC.