Chile earthquakes

M5.2 earthquake 84 km W of Ovalle, Chile

A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 84 km W of Ovalle, Chile on Fri, Mar 10, 2017, 3:22 AM GMT-3 (06:22 UTC), 14 km (9 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.4 55 km SW of Ovalle, Chile. This one was a foreshock.

Ovalle forecast More 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: 5.2 (Mww, W-phase moment), moderate
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Fri, Mar 10, 2017, 3:22 AM GMT-3
UTC: 2017-03-10 06:22:20 UTC
Depth: 14.1 km (8.7 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 30.580° S, 72.079° W
Region: Chile
Felt reports: 2
Tsunami flag: No
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

Magnitude estimates

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.	Scale	Computed by	Notes
5.2	Mww, W-phase moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.061 · 26 stations
5.16	Mw, moment	ISC-GEM global catalog	Final · ±0.1
5.1	Mwr, regional moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Moment tensor · Reviewed

Did you feel it?

2 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)
Moment magnitude: 5.2 Mww
Nodal plane 1: Strike 17°, dip 14°, rake 106°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 181°, dip 76°, rake 86°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 4.7 km horizontally, 3.8 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.06
Depth from: From location
Station coverage gap: 84°
Stations used: 142

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.2 and up: 11 in the 60 days after this one and 5 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 us1000882x (also filed as iscgem610316873). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 8:09 AM UTC.