Chile earthquakes

M5.5 earthquake 135 km NNE of Calama, Chile

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 135 km NNE of Calama, Chile on Thu, Dec 4, 2008, 1:47 PM GMT-3 (16:47 UTC), 115 km (72 mi) below the surface.

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: 5.5 (mwb), moderate
Local time: Thu, Dec 4, 2008, 1:47 PM GMT-3
UTC: 2008-12-04 16:47:09 UTC
Depth: 115.3 km (71.6 mi), intermediate-depth
Epicenter: 21.389° S, 68.288° 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 281°, dip 44°, rake -46°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 47°, dip 60°, rake -124°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Depth from: CONSTRAINED_BY_DEPTH_PHASES
Station coverage gap: 47°
Stations used: 254

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 8 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes today Chile earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000gpxj (also filed as gcmtc200812041647a, gcmt20081204164709, iscgem11492047). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 12:40 AM UTC.