M4.6 earthquake 154 km N of Calama, Chile
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 154 km N of Calama, Chile on Thu, Dec 20, 2018, 10:38 PM GMT-3 (01:38 UTC), 93 km (58 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
- 4.6 (Mwr, regional moment), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2018-12-21 01:38:32 UTC
- Depth
- 93.0 km (57.8 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 21.064° S, 68.825° W
- Region
- Chile
- Felt reports
- 1
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Did you feel it?
1 person reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was II, weak shaking.
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
- 4.6 Mwr
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 325°, dip 55°, rake -99°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 161°, dip 36°, rake -77°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 5.4 km horizontally, 5.7 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.05
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 48°
- Stations used
- 47
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.6 and up: 12 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.692 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 2840 days ago · 143 km deep · 69 km away
- 5.0136 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 2839 days ago · 115 km deep · 73 km away · felt by 2
- 4.3105 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 2838 days ago · 140 km deep · 63 km away
- 4.7137 km SE of Iquique, Chile · 2827 days ago · 140 km deep · 33 km away
- 4.283 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 2823 days ago · 128 km deep · 75 km away
- 4.4142 km E of Iquique, Chile · 2806 days ago · 147 km deep · 96 km away
- 4.2122 km ESE of Iquique, Chile · 2800 days ago · 102 km deep · 67 km away
- 4.1159 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 2798 days ago · 139 km deep · 24 km away
- 4.1136 km N of Calama, Chile · 2793 days ago · 123 km deep · 23 km away
- 4.7106 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 2791 days ago · 137 km deep · 62 km away
- 5.0106 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 2791 days ago · 115 km deep · 80 km away · felt by 3
- 4.5160 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 2786 days ago · 119 km deep · 63 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us2000ivpw. Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 2:35 PM UTC.