M5.0 earthquake 49 km WNW of Cauquenes, Chile
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 49 km WNW of Cauquenes, Chile on Sat, Mar 3, 2012, 7:12 PM GMT-3 (22:12 UTC), 13 km (8 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M7.1 23 km NE of Constitución, Chile. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.0 (Mwr, regional moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2012-03-03 22:12:55 UTC
- Depth
- 13.1 km (8.1 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 35.749° S, 72.800° W
- Region
- Chile
- Felt reports
- 12
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.0 | Mwr, regional moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.14 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
Felt (V) at Cauquenes and (IV) at Chanco, Chiguayante, Chillan, Chillan Viejo, Cobquecura, Concepcion, Constitucion, Hualpen, La Laja, Linares, Pelluhue, Penco, San Pedro de la Paz, Talca, Talcahuano and Tome. Felt widely in Araucania, Bio-Bio, Maule and O'Higgins.
From the USGS event page for usp000jfrf. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
Did you feel it?
12 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was III, weak shaking.
Fault motion and ground failure
How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.
- Faulting
- Reverse (thrust)
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 42°, dip 20°, rake 104°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 207°, dip 71°, rake 85°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Station coverage gap
- 56°
- Stations used
- 160
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 15 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.763 km WNW of Cauquenes, Chile · 5325 days ago · 10 km deep · 15 km away
- 4.635 km SW of Constitución, Chile · 5325 days ago · 28 km deep · 25 km away
- 4.964 km WNW of Cauquenes, Chile · 5325 days ago · 10 km deep · 16 km away · felt by 4
- 4.633 km NE of Cauquenes, Chile · 5308 days ago · 67 km deep · 70 km away
- 7.123 km NE of Constitución, Chile · 5303 days ago · 41 km deep · 81 km away · felt by 1,122
- 4.636 km NW of Constitución, Chile · 5303 days ago · 44 km deep · 74 km away
- 4.124 km NNW of Constitución, Chile · 5302 days ago · 13 km deep · 76 km away
- 4.7Near the coast of Maule, Chile · 5301 days ago · 16 km deep · 29 km away
- 4.122 km N of Constitución, Chile · 5300 days ago · 17 km deep · 76 km away
- 4.525 km NE of Constitución, Chile · 5298 days ago · 38 km deep · 83 km away
- 4.430 km ENE of Constitución, Chile · 5297 days ago · 43 km deep · 84 km away
- 4.148 km SW of Constitución, Chile · 5291 days ago · 13 km deep · 17 km away
- 4.738 km ENE of Constitución, Chile · 5284 days ago · 40 km deep · 93 km away
- 4.354 km NW of Tomé, Chile · 5281 days ago · 27 km deep · 74 km away
- 4.017 km WSW of Quirihue, Chile · 5276 days ago · 63 km deep · 68 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000jfrf (also filed as usb0008apu, iscgem600760711). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 3:12 PM UTC.