M6.1 earthquake 24 km NNW of Tomé, Chile
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 24 km NNW of Tomé, Chile on Mon, Jan 23, 2012, 1:04 PM GMT-3 (16:04 UTC), 20 km (12 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 6.1 (Mww, W-phase moment), strong
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2012-01-23 16:04:52 UTC
- Depth
- 20.0 km (12.4 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 36.409° S, 73.030° W
- Region
- Chile
- Felt reports
- 156
- Strongest shaking
- VI, strong shaking
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.1 | Mww, W-phase moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 6.12 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.81 | Me, energy | Choy, USGS energy magnitude | Reviewed |
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
Felt (VI) at Arauco, Cobquecura, Concepcion, Coronel, Longavi, Penco, Talcahuano, Tome and Villa Alegre; (V) at Chillan, La Laja, Los Angeles, Molina and San Rosendo; (IV) at Angol, Arauco, Carahue, Chiguayante, Constitucion, Parral, Pelluhue, Renaico and Tolten. Felt in many parts of south-central Chile from Santiago to Valdivia.
From the USGS event page for usp000jdvv. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
Shaking
The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.
- Strongest estimated
- VI, strong shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 18.5% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 2.2 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
Did you feel it?
156 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was V, moderate 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 8°, dip 17°, rake 101°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 176°, dip 73°, rake 86°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
- Station coverage gap
- 34°
- Stations used
- 388
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 3.1 and up: 9 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.046 km NW of Talcahuano, Chile · 5366 days ago · 7 km deep · 41 km away
- 4.423 km NW of Talcahuano, Chile · 5366 days ago · 15 km deep · 28 km away
- 5.031 km NNW of Tomé, Chile · 5366 days ago · 40 km deep · 8 km away · felt by 12
- 4.711 km WNW of Talcahuano, Chile · 5354 days ago · 38 km deep · 37 km away · felt by 26
- 4.017 km E of Concepción, Chile · 5348 days ago · 40 km deep · 51 km away
- 5.049 km WNW of Cauquenes, Chile · 5326 days ago · 13 km deep · 76 km away · felt by 12
- 4.763 km WNW of Cauquenes, Chile · 5326 days ago · 10 km deep · 76 km away
- 4.964 km WNW of Cauquenes, Chile · 5326 days ago · 10 km deep · 75 km away · felt by 4
- 4.743 km WNW of Coronel, Chile · 5314 days ago · 27 km deep · 74 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000jdvv (also filed as usc0007qi0, choy20120123160453, iscgem603838887, atlas20120123160454). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 1:15 AM UTC.