M4.8 earthquake 53 km ENE of Calama, Chile
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 53 km ENE of Calama, Chile on Thu, Dec 24, 1987, 10:34 PM GMT-3 (01:34 UTC), 126 km (78 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.1 62 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
- 4.8 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1987-12-25 01:34:00 UTC
- Depth
- 125.7 km (78.1 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 22.211° S, 68.473° 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 1.8 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.722 km S of Calama, Chile · 14117 days ago · 88 km deep · 70 km away
- 5.162 km ENE of Calama, Chile · 14102 days ago · 127 km deep · 19 km away
- 4.420 km WSW of Calama, Chile · 14100 days ago · 114 km deep · 74 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0003bhu. Read Wed, Sep 23, 2026, 3:22 AM UTC.