M4.5 earthquake 39 km SSE of Calama, Chile
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 39 km SSE of Calama, Chile on Sat, Mar 21, 1987, 6:00 AM GMT-3 (09:00 UTC), 124 km (77 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.7 43 km E 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
- 1987-03-21 09:00:10 UTC
- Depth
- 123.7 km (76.9 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 22.795° S, 68.792° 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: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.491 km WSW of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile · 14407 days ago · 89 km deep · 61 km away
- 4.743 km E of Calama, Chile · 14382 days ago · 122 km deep · 53 km away
- 4.436 km ESE of Calama, Chile · 14382 days ago · 119 km deep · 26 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00033gf. Read Wed, Sep 23, 2026, 2:36 AM UTC.