M5.0 earthquake 12 km SW of Cañar, Ecuador
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 12 km SW of Cañar, Ecuador on Thu, Dec 20, 1979, 7:26 PM GMT-5 (00:26 UTC), 91 km (57 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.3 16 km ESE of Eloy Alfaro, Ecuador. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.0 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1979-12-21 00:26:06 UTC
- Depth
- 91.0 km (56.5 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 2.652° S, 79.006° W
- Region
- Ecuador
- 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
- 55
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
Before
Earthquakes todayEcuador earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00014md. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 7:47 PM UTC.