M4.7 earthquake 39 km NNE of Calama, Chile
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 39 km NNE of Calama, Chile on Thu, Aug 20, 1987, 7:01 PM GMT-4 (23:01 UTC), 121 km (75 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.6 57 km ENE 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
- 4.7 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1987-08-20 23:01:39 UTC
- Depth
- 121.4 km (75.4 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 22.108° S, 68.845° 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
- FROM_LOCATION
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.7 and up: 3 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 usp00037p3. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:29 PM UTC.