M4.5 earthquake 44 km SE of Calama, Chile
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 44 km SE of Calama, Chile on Thu, Mar 21, 2019, 1:57 PM GMT-3 (16:57 UTC), 109 km (68 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.6 42 km S 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
- 4.5 (Mwr, regional moment), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2019-03-21 16:57:52 UTC
- Depth
- 109.5 km (68.0 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 22.740° S, 68.618° 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
- 4.5 Mwr
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 338°, dip 62°, rake -98°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 174°, dip 28°, rake -76°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 5.3 km horizontally, 4.2 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.06
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 54°
- Stations used
- 97
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 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 3.953 km W of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile · 2751 days ago · 113 km deep · 24 km away · felt by 1
- 4.642 km S of Calama, Chile · 2750 days ago · 113 km deep · 29 km away · felt by 1
- 4.363 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 2750 days ago · 113 km deep · 89 km away
- 4.645 km S of Calama, Chile · 2706 days ago · 103 km deep · 42 km away · felt by 1
- 4.259 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 2696 days ago · 112 km deep · 88 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us1000jjuv. Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 2:04 AM UTC.