Chile earthquakes

M4.2 earthquake 89 km W of Ovalle, Chile

A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 89 km W of Ovalle, Chile on Wed, Dec 2, 2015, 7:05 PM GMT-3 (22:05 UTC), 6 km (4 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.5 39 km NW of Coquimbo, Chile. This one was a foreshock.

Ovalle forecastMore in Chile

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

The earthquake

Magnitude
4.2 (mwr), light
Local time
UTC
2015-12-02 22:05:32 UTC
Depth
6.5 km (4.0 mi), shallow
Epicenter
30.462° S, 72.117° 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
4.2 Mwr
Nodal plane 1
Strike 16°, dip 25°, rake 107°
Nodal plane 2
Strike 177°, dip 66°, rake 82°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty
About 4.9 km horizontally, 4.2 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.06
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
151°
Stations used
51

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 56 in the 60 days after this one and 68 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us100042uc. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 12:17 PM UTC.