M4.4 earthquake 61 km SW of Ovalle, Chile
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 61 km SW of Ovalle, Chile on Mon, May 21, 2012, 7:13 AM GMT-4 (11:13 UTC), 59 km (37 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.7 4 km WSW of Illapel, Chile. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.4 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2012-05-21 11:13:33 UTC
- Depth
- 58.9 km (36.6 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 30.994° S, 71.648° W
- Region
- Chile
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
Felt (II) at Coquimbo and La Serena.
From the USGS event page for usp000jkr3. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Station coverage gap
- 115°
- Stations used
- 35
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.74 km WSW of Illapel, Chile · 5232 days ago · 36 km deep · 83 km away
- 4.765 km W of Illapel, Chile · 5215 days ago · 42 km deep · 68 km away
- 4.037 km N of Illapel, Chile · 5191 days ago · 52 km deep · 54 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000jkr3. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 4:59 AM UTC.