M4.5 earthquake 45 km NE of Calama, Chile
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 45 km NE of Calama, Chile on Tue, Sep 15, 1981, 5:52 AM GMT-4 (09:52 UTC), 97 km (60 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.2 105 km N 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
- 1981-09-15 09:52:17 UTC
- Depth
- 97.0 km (60.3 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 22.227° S, 68.555° 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
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 usp0001fwa. Read Wed, Sep 23, 2026, 4:23 AM UTC.