M4.2 earthquake 104 km SSW of Calama, Chile
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 104 km SSW of Calama, Chile on Fri, Dec 27, 2019, 3:50 PM GMT-3 (18:50 UTC), 84 km (52 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.6 82 km SW 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
- 4.2 (Mwr, regional moment), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2019-12-27 18:50:44 UTC
- Depth
- 83.8 km (52.1 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 23.303° S, 69.375° 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
- 4.2 Mwr
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 130°, dip 46°, rake -117°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 346°, dip 50°, rake -65°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 3.4 km horizontally, 4.0 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.05
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 43°
- Stations used
- 82
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.272 km SW of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile · 2453 days ago · 99 km deep · 61 km away
- 4.3132 km SW of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile · 2448 days ago · 91 km deep · 68 km away
- 4.245 km SSE of Calama, Chile · 2443 days ago · 116 km deep · 88 km away
- 4.447 km SSE of Calama, Chile · 2429 days ago · 124 km deep · 78 km away
- 4.135 km SSW of Calama, Chile · 2422 days ago · 89 km deep · 70 km away
- 4.682 km SW of Calama, Chile · 2411 days ago · 76 km deep · 28 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us70006rnd. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 8:09 AM UTC.