M3.9 earthquake 97 km WSW of Copiapó, Chile
A magnitude 3.9 earthquake struck 97 km WSW of Copiapó, Chile on Wed, May 16, 2018, 12:49 PM GMT-4 (16:49 UTC), 37 km (23 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.4 Near the coast of Atacama, 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 (mb), minor
- Local time
- UTC
- 2018-05-16 16:49:34 UTC
- Depth
- 36.6 km (22.8 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 27.645° S, 71.269° 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.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 5.9 km horizontally, 9.1 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.30
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 180°
- Stations used
- 39
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.3105 km NW of Copiapó, Chile · 3023 days ago · 24 km deep · 99 km away
- 4.2160 km WNW of Vallenar, Chile · 3014 days ago · 10 km deep · 91 km away
- 4.4Near the coast of Atacama, Chile · 3008 days ago · 21 km deep · 35 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us1000e6h2. Read Sat, Sep 26, 2026, 3:02 PM UTC.