M3.8 earthquake 107 km WNW of Iquique, Chile
A magnitude 3.8 earthquake struck 107 km WNW of Iquique, Chile on Sat, Dec 19, 2015, 2:44 PM GMT-3 (17:44 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.8 32 km NNW of Iquique, Chile. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 3.8 (mwr), minor
- Local time
- UTC
- 2015-12-19 17:44:04 UTC
- Depth
- 9.5 km (5.9 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 19.940° S, 71.141° W
- Region
- Chile
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
Fault motion and ground failure
How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.
- Faulting
- Reverse (thrust)
- Moment magnitude
- 3.8 Mwr
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 352°, dip 38°, rake 92°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 170°, dip 52°, rake 89°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 4.0 km horizontally, 5.1 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.05
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 161°
- Stations used
- 32
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.245 km W of Iquique, Chile · 3893 days ago · 22 km deep · 64 km away
- 4.832 km NNW of Iquique, Chile · 3882 days ago · 62 km deep · 87 km away · felt by 2
- 4.373 km SW of Iquique, Chile · 3882 days ago · 37 km deep · 90 km away
- 3.877 km W of Iquique, Chile · 3881 days ago · 15 km deep · 39 km away
- 4.185 km W of Iquique, Chile · 3879 days ago · 33 km deep · 25 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us100048vc. Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 5:50 AM UTC.