Chile earthquakes

M5.0 earthquake 128 km N of Calama, Chile

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 128 km N of Calama, Chile on Sun, Jan 17, 2016, 12:28 PM GMT-3 (15:28 UTC), 90 km (56 mi) below the surface.

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Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.0 (mwr), moderate
Local time: Sun, Jan 17, 2016, 12:28 PM GMT-3
UTC: 2016-01-17 15:28:38 UTC
Depth: 90.3 km (56.1 mi), intermediate-depth
Epicenter: 21.304° S, 68.763° 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: Normal
Moment magnitude: 4.8 Mwr
Nodal plane 1: Strike 333°, dip 59°, rake -85°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 144°, dip 31°, rake -98°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 5.1 km horizontally, 4.0 km in depth
Depth from: From location
Station coverage gap: 42°
Stations used: 306

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 19 in the 60 days after this one and 8 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes today Chile earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us10004f7g (also filed as gcmt20160117152839). Read Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 6:43 PM UTC.