M4.6 earthquake 27 km W of Nacimiento, Chile
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 27 km W of Nacimiento, Chile on Wed, Nov 7, 2012, 7:41 PM GMT-3 (22:41 UTC), 39 km (24 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.2 5 km SE of Arauco, Chile. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.6 (Mwr, regional moment), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2012-11-07 22:41:33 UTC
- Depth
- 39.3 km (24.4 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 37.512° S, 72.985° W
- Region
- Chile
- Felt reports
- 14
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.6 | Mwr, regional moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.18 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.2 |
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
Felt (V) at Arauco, Curanilahue, Lebu and Tirua; (IV) at Angol, Coronel and Lota; (III) at Concepcion, Longavi, Los Angeles, Los Sauces, Puren, Renaico, San Pedro and Talcahuano; (II) at Parral. Also felt at Chiguayante, Chillan and Nacimiento.
From the USGS event page for usp000jv64. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
Did you feel it?
14 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was IV, light shaking.
Fault motion and ground failure
How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.
- Faulting
- Normal
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 354°, dip 83°, rake -92°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 188°, dip 7°, rake -77°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Station coverage gap
- 101°
- Stations used
- 68
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.6 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.015 km W of Lebu, Chile · 5069 days ago · 21 km deep · 75 km away
- 5.25 km SE of Arauco, Chile · 5030 days ago · 29 km deep · 36 km away · felt by 29
Before
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000jv64 (also filed as usc000dnvb, iscgem601880072). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 11:01 PM UTC.