M3.9 earthquake 40 km NE of Calama, Chile
A magnitude 3.9 earthquake struck 40 km NE of Calama, Chile on Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 3:31 AM GMT-3 (06:31 UTC), 114 km (71 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.0 136 km NNE 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
- 3.9 (Mwr, regional moment), minor
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2018-12-10 06:31:12 UTC
- Depth
- 114.4 km (71.1 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 22.185° S, 68.662° 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
- 3.9 Mwr
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 324°, dip 63°, rake -101°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 167°, dip 29°, rake -69°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 4.9 km horizontally, 5.4 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.10
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 42°
- Stations used
- 38
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 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.288 km NNW of Calama, Chile · 2846 days ago · 106 km deep · 73 km away
- 4.692 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 2840 days ago · 143 km deep · 58 km away
- 5.0136 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 2839 days ago · 115 km deep · 98 km away · felt by 2
- 4.3105 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 2838 days ago · 140 km deep · 70 km away
- 4.635 km N of Calama, Chile · 2838 days ago · 100 km deep · 30 km away
- 4.271 km NE of Calama, Chile · 2831 days ago · 117 km deep · 31 km away
- 4.533 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 2831 days ago · 107 km deep · 10 km away · felt by 1
- 4.283 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 2823 days ago · 128 km deep · 51 km away
- 4.222 km SW of Calama, Chile · 2814 days ago · 115 km deep · 63 km away
- 4.140 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 2806 days ago · 112 km deep · 19 km away
- 4.544 km E of Calama, Chile · 2799 days ago · 127 km deep · 37 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us2000itlt. Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 2:50 PM UTC.