M4.2 earthquake 104 km NW of Vallenar, Chile
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 104 km NW of Vallenar, Chile on Sat, Dec 30, 2017, 9:54 AM GMT-3 (12:54 UTC), 31 km (19 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.6 124 km NW of Vallenar, 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
- 2017-12-30 12:54:34 UTC
- Depth
- 30.9 km (19.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 27.953° S, 71.554° 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
- Oblique reverse
- Moment magnitude
- 4.2 Mwr
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 225°, dip 39°, rake 128°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 359°, dip 61°, rake 64°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 4.4 km horizontally, 4.7 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.04
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 144°
- Stations used
- 48
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.4110 km W of Vallenar, Chile · 3177 days ago · 22 km deep · 89 km away
- 4.0103 km WNW of Copiapó, Chile · 3174 days ago · 14 km deep · 99 km away
- 4.390 km NW of Vallenar, Chile · 3159 days ago · 20 km deep · 18 km away
- 4.6124 km NW of Vallenar, Chile · 3144 days ago · 8 km deep · 20 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us1000by5b. Read Fri, Sep 25, 2026, 11:23 PM UTC.