M3.9 earthquake 60 km W of Vallenar, Chile
A magnitude 3.9 earthquake struck 60 km W of Vallenar, Chile on Sun, Mar 18, 2018, 10:45 PM GMT-3 (01:45 UTC), 24 km (15 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.5 50 km N 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
- 3.9 (mwr), minor
- Local time
- UTC
- 2018-03-19 01:45:12 UTC
- Depth
- 24.4 km (15.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 28.488° S, 71.365° 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
- Reverse (thrust)
- Moment magnitude
- 3.9 Mwr
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 3°, dip 35°, rake 86°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 188°, dip 55°, rake 93°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 4.5 km horizontally, 2.0 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.04
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 138°
- 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: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.550 km N of Vallenar, Chile · 3098 days ago · 73 km deep · 75 km away
- 4.479 km NW of Vallenar, Chile · 3076 days ago · 22 km deep · 35 km away
- 4.123 km N of Vallenar, Chile · 3070 days ago · 85 km deep · 58 km away
- 3.997 km WSW of Copiapó, Chile · 3057 days ago · 37 km deep · 94 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us1000d6as. Read Mon, Sep 28, 2026, 7:29 AM UTC.