M4.2 earthquake 51 km SW of Copiapó, Chile
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 51 km SW of Copiapó, Chile on Thu, Nov 21, 2019, 12:13 PM GMT-3 (15:13 UTC), 64 km (40 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.5 72 km W of Copiapó, 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
- 2019-11-21 15:13:58 UTC
- Depth
- 63.8 km (39.7 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 27.751° S, 70.630° 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
- Oblique reverse
- Moment magnitude
- 4.2 Mwr
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 139°, dip 77°, rake 48°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 35°, dip 44°, rake 161°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 3.7 km horizontally, 3.6 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.04
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 135°
- Stations used
- 33
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
- 4.258 km NW of Vallenar, Chile · 2500 days ago · 40 km deep · 77 km away
- 4.572 km W of Copiapó, Chile · 2500 days ago · 35 km deep · 66 km away
- 4.397 km NW of Vallenar, Chile · 2475 days ago · 18 km deep · 70 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us70006b10. Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 8:09 PM UTC.