M3.9 earthquake 36 km SSW of Ovalle, Chile
A magnitude 3.9 earthquake struck 36 km SSW of Ovalle, Chile on Tue, Sep 18, 2018, 8:50 PM GMT-3 (23:50 UTC), 47 km (29 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.2 49 km W of Ovalle, 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
- 2018-09-18 23:50:10 UTC
- Depth
- 46.9 km (29.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 30.889° S, 71.389° 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
- Reverse (thrust)
- Moment magnitude
- 3.9 Mwr
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 359°, dip 27°, rake 96°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 172°, dip 63°, rake 87°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 5.4 km horizontally, 5.0 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.05
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 71°
- Stations used
- 54
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 5 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.634 km SSW of Coquimbo, Chile · 2928 days ago · 42 km deep · 74 km away
- 4.653 km W of Ovalle, Chile · 2919 days ago · 31 km deep · 46 km away · felt by 1
- 4.749 km W of Ovalle, Chile · 2901 days ago · 35 km deep · 45 km away · felt by 7
- 4.166 km W of Ovalle, Chile · 2894 days ago · 16 km deep · 58 km away
- 5.249 km W of Ovalle, Chile · 2886 days ago · 26 km deep · 42 km away · felt by 5
Before
- 4.080 km W of Illapel, Chile · 2944 days ago · 35 km deep · 92 km away
- 4.060 km SW of Coquimbo, Chile · 2955 days ago · 28 km deep · 76 km away
- 4.2108 km WSW of Ovalle, Chile · 2960 days ago · 18 km deep · 80 km away
- 4.033 km WSW of Ovalle, Chile · 2965 days ago · 42 km deep · 26 km away
- 4.248 km SW of Ovalle, Chile · 2967 days ago · 76 km deep · 19 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us2000hgwb. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 4:10 PM UTC.