M4.6 earthquake 24 km ESE of Calama, Chile
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 24 km ESE of Calama, Chile on Wed, May 20, 1981, 7:41 AM GMT-4 (11:41 UTC), 118 km (73 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.7 32 km ENE of San Pedro de Atacama, 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
- 1981-05-20 11:41:46 UTC
- Depth
- 118.1 km (73.4 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 22.580° S, 68.724° 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 1.6 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 1 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 usp0001dsb. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 12:55 AM UTC.