Chile earthquakes

M5.0 earthquake 104 km NE of Calama, Chile

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 104 km NE of Calama, Chile on Mon, Jan 13, 2020, 10:57 PM GMT-3 (01:57 UTC), 109 km (68 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.2 74 km NE of Calama, Chile. This one was a foreshock.

Calama forecastMore in Chile

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
5.0 (Mww, W-phase moment), moderate
Magnitude from
USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time
UTC
2020-01-14 01:57:28 UTC
Depth
109.1 km (67.8 mi), intermediate-depth
Epicenter
21.735° S, 68.274° W
Region
Chile
Felt reports
17
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

Magnitude estimates

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.ScaleComputed byNotes
5.0Mww, W-phase momentUSGS National Earthquake Information CenterPreferred · Reviewed · ±0.05 · 38 stations
5.14Mw, momentISC-GEM global catalogFinal · ±0.1

Did you feel it?

17 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was IV, light shaking.

Did You Feel It? map: shaking reported by the public
Shaking reported by the public, by area. Map: USGS Did You Feel It?

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
5.0 Mww
Nodal plane 1
Strike 160°, dip 39°, rake -78°
Nodal plane 2
Strike 324°, dip 52°, rake -100°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty
About 6.0 km horizontally, 3.6 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.05
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
31°
Stations used
107

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 14 in the 60 days after this one and 13 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us70006zgt (also filed as iscgem617176277). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 4:32 AM UTC.