M4.2 earthquake 78 km NE of Calama, Chile
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 78 km NE of Calama, Chile on Thu, Feb 16, 2017, 3:34 AM GMT-3 (06:34 UTC), 98 km (61 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.3 27 km ESE of Calama, Chile. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.2 (mwr), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 2017-02-16 06:34:59 UTC
- Depth
- 97.9 km (60.9 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 21.935° S, 68.404° 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
- 4.2 Mwr
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 356°, dip 57°, rake -81°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 159°, dip 34°, rake -104°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 5.2 km horizontally, 5.8 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.07
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 31°
- Stations used
- 73
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 11 in the 60 days after this one and 6 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.243 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 3511 days ago · 105 km deep · 37 km away
- 4.793 km NE of Calama, Chile · 3496 days ago · 108 km deep · 15 km away
- 4.5122 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 3486 days ago · 115 km deep · 49 km away
- 4.899 km NE of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile · 3485 days ago · 157 km deep · 100 km away
- 4.1154 km NE of Calama, Chile · 3483 days ago · 195 km deep · 77 km away
- 5.1108 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 3480 days ago · 125 km deep · 40 km away · felt by 1
- 4.3151 km SW of Uyuni, Bolivia · 3477 days ago · 182 km deep · 82 km away
- 4.3137 km N of Calama, Chile · 3467 days ago · 115 km deep · 94 km away
- 4.799 km N of Calama, Chile · 3459 days ago · 133 km deep · 67 km away
- 5.327 km ESE of Calama, Chile · 3456 days ago · 106 km deep · 69 km away · felt by 3
- 4.333 km NE of Calama, Chile · 3456 days ago · 128 km deep · 46 km away
Before
- 4.3103 km NE of Calama, Chile · 3514 days ago · 134 km deep · 27 km away
- 4.1157 km WSW of Uyuni, Bolivia · 3521 days ago · 182 km deep · 83 km away
- 4.3138 km N of Calama, Chile · 3524 days ago · 131 km deep · 97 km away
- 4.942 km E of Calama, Chile · 3533 days ago · 93 km deep · 61 km away
- 4.0107 km N of Calama, Chile · 3534 days ago · 118 km deep · 75 km away
- 4.3134 km N of Calama, Chile · 3536 days ago · 127 km deep · 85 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us20008k55. Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 9:26 PM UTC.