M4.5 earthquake 44 km NNW of Valparaíso, Chile
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 44 km NNW of Valparaíso, Chile on Thu, Nov 15, 2012, 5:32 PM GMT-3 (20:32 UTC), 23 km (14 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.8 28 km WNW of Valparaíso, Chile. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.5 (Mwr, regional moment), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2012-11-15 20:32:36 UTC
- Depth
- 23.2 km (14.4 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 32.666° S, 71.825° W
- Region
- Chile
- Felt reports
- 11
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
Felt (III) at Quillota, Valparaiso, Villa Alemana and Zapallar and (II) at Puente Alto, Salamanca, Santiago and Tiltil. Also felt at Las Condes, La Serena, Los Andes, Renca, Valparaiso and Vina del Mar.
From the USGS event page for usp000jvn7. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
Did you feel it?
11 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 185°, dip 59°, rake 85°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 15°, dip 32°, rake 99°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Station coverage gap
- 118°
- Stations used
- 56
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 6 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.135 km N of Valparaíso, Chile · 5062 days ago · 21 km deep · 14 km away · felt by 9
- 4.637 km NNW of Valparaíso, Chile · 5052 days ago · 38 km deep · 8 km away
- 4.828 km WNW of Valparaíso, Chile · 5019 days ago · 22 km deep · 28 km away
- 4.19 km SE of Limache, Chile · 5016 days ago · 66 km deep · 74 km away · felt by 8
Before
- 4.311 km NW of Hacienda La Calera, Chile · 5079 days ago · 46 km deep · 48 km away · felt by 8
- 4.666 km WSW of Illapel, Chile · 5082 days ago · 36 km deep · 100 km away
- 4.016 km N of Cartagena, Chile · 5090 days ago · 34 km deep · 85 km away
- 4.388 km WNW of La Ligua, Chile · 5098 days ago · 22 km deep · 55 km away
- 4.082 km WSW of Illapel, Chile · 5099 days ago · 43 km deep · 99 km away
- 4.584 km WSW of Illapel, Chile · 5100 days ago · 29 km deep · 95 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000jvn7 (also filed as usc000dt7v). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 7:07 PM UTC.