M4.2 earthquake 29 km E of Calama, Chile
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 29 km E of Calama, Chile on Fri, Dec 25, 2020, 6:37 AM GMT-3 (09:37 UTC), 111 km (69 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.9 82 km NNE 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
- 2020-12-25 09:37:17 UTC
- Depth
- 111.0 km (69.0 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 22.434° S, 68.638° 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 358°, dip 58°, rake -96°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 189°, dip 32°, rake -80°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 3.2 km horizontally, 4.9 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.07
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 37°
- Stations used
- 75
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 9 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.366 km NE of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile · 2105 days ago · 192 km deep · 86 km away · felt by 1
- 4.036 km SSE of Calama, Chile · 2100 days ago · 113 km deep · 38 km away
- 4.845 km E of Calama, Chile · 2091 days ago · 105 km deep · 17 km away
- 4.982 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 2089 days ago · 117 km deep · 78 km away · felt by 1
- 4.361 km NE of Calama, Chile · 2051 days ago · 135 km deep · 48 km away · felt by 1
Before
- 4.249 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 2111 days ago · 118 km deep · 49 km away
- 4.9Antofagasta, Chile · 2112 days ago · 106 km deep · 31 km away · felt by 2
- 4.055 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 2112 days ago · 121 km deep · 48 km away
- 4.348 km ENE of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile · 2116 days ago · 166 km deep · 98 km away
- 4.120 km SSE of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile · 2118 days ago · 130 km deep · 88 km away
- 6.075 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 2118 days ago · 114 km deep · 70 km away · felt by 38
- 4.2107 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 2131 days ago · 115 km deep · 99 km away
- 4.2104 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 2132 days ago · 138 km deep · 96 km away
- 4.165 km NE of Calama, Chile · 2134 days ago · 138 km deep · 50 km away
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us6000d2w8. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 3:02 PM UTC.