M3.9 earthquake 87 km SSW of Arica, Chile
A magnitude 3.9 earthquake struck 87 km SSW of Arica, Chile on Mon, Dec 7, 2020, 4:53 PM GMT-3 (19:53 UTC), 69 km (43 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.2 35 km NW of Iquique, 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 (mb, body-wave), minor
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2020-12-07 19:53:10 UTC
- Depth
- 68.6 km (42.6 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 19.231° S, 70.542° W
- Region
- Chile
- Felt reports
- 3
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Did you feel it?
3 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was I, not felt shaking.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 4.8 km horizontally, 6.7 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.23
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 174°
- Stations used
- 25
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 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us7000cnwp. Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 1:24 AM UTC.