Chile earthquakes

M5.3 earthquake 95 km NNE of Calama, Chile

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 95 km NNE of Calama, Chile on Thu, Jan 3, 2008, 10:26 PM GMT-3 (01:26 UTC), 118 km (73 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M6.1 134 km NNE of Calama, Chile. This one was a foreshock.

Calama forecast More in Chile

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.3 (mwc), moderate
Local time: Thu, Jan 3, 2008, 10:26 PM GMT-3
UTC: 2008-01-04 01:26:31 UTC
Depth: 117.7 km (73.1 mi), intermediate-depth
Epicenter: 21.642° S, 68.631° 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.

Fault motion and ground failure

How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.

Faulting: Oblique normal
Nodal plane 1: Strike 166°, dip 19°, rake -125°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 23°, dip 75°, rake -79°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Station coverage gap: 47°
Stations used: 274

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 19 in the 60 days after this one and 5 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000fvxu (also filed as gcmtc200801040126a, gcmt20080104012631, iscgem13327160). Read Sat, Sep 26, 2026, 1:38 PM UTC.