M4.5 earthquake 9 km WNW of Calama, Chile
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 9 km WNW of Calama, Chile on Tue, Mar 31, 1981, 9:13 AM GMT-4 (13:13 UTC), 127 km (79 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.6 24 km ESE 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
- 1981-03-31 13:13:07 UTC
- Depth
- 126.5 km (78.6 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 22.412° S, 69.000° 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.
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 usp0001cyt. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 7:45 PM UTC.