M5.4 earthquake 111 km NE of Calama, Chile
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 111 km NE of Calama, Chile on Tue, May 12, 1987, 12:12 PM GMT-4 (16:12 UTC), 78 km (48 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.7 149 km NNE 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
- 5.4 (mw), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1987-05-12 16:12:37 UTC
- Depth
- 77.9 km (48.4 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 21.694° S, 68.222° 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 2.4 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 6 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.4127 km N of Calama, Chile · 14368 days ago · 126 km deep · 91 km away
- 5.245 km ENE of Calama, Chile · 14359 days ago · 104 km deep · 71 km away
- 4.6105 km NE of Calama, Chile · 14342 days ago · 33 km deep · 14 km away
- 5.7149 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 14340 days ago · 86 km deep · 55 km away
Before
- 4.743 km E of Calama, Chile · 14382 days ago · 122 km deep · 83 km away
- 4.8116 km SSW of Uyuni, Bolivia · 14393 days ago · 205 km deep · 94 km away
- 4.3163 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 14394 days ago · 157 km deep · 85 km away
- 4.4126 km N of Calama, Chile · 14399 days ago · 137 km deep · 82 km away
- 4.6160 km N of Calama, Chile · 14401 days ago · 136 km deep · 86 km away
- 4.2116 km NNE of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile · 14402 days ago · 301 km deep · 41 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00034yd (also filed as gcmtb051287d, gcmt19870512161242, iscgem466784). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:29 PM UTC.