M4.8 earthquake 132 km N of Calama, Chile
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 132 km N of Calama, Chile on Fri, Feb 23, 1979, 9:30 PM GMT-3 (00:30 UTC), 121 km (75 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.9 140 km ESE of Iquique, Chile. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.8 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1979-02-24 00:30:02 UTC
- Depth
- 121.0 km (75.2 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 21.265° S, 68.975° 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
- 34
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
Before
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000yzj. Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 1:51 AM UTC.