Chile earthquakes

M4.9 earthquake 57 km SSW of Calama, Chile

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 57 km SSW of Calama, Chile on Fri, May 22, 2020, 10:59 AM GMT-4 (14:59 UTC), 94 km (58 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M6.8 48 km SW of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. This one was a foreshock.

Calama forecast More in Chile

Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 4.9 (Mww, W-phase moment), light
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Fri, May 22, 2020, 10:59 AM GMT-4
UTC: 2020-05-22 14:59:32 UTC
Depth: 94.0 km (58.4 mi), intermediate-depth
Epicenter: 22.959° S, 69.049° W
Region: Chile
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.	Scale	Computed by	Notes
4.9	Mww, W-phase moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.098 · 10 stations
4.97	Mw, moment	ISC-GEM global catalog	Final · ±0.1
4.9	Mwr, regional moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Moment tensor · Reviewed

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: Strike-slip
Moment magnitude: 4.9 Mwr
Nodal plane 1: Strike 252°, dip 41°, rake -12°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 350°, dip 83°, rake -130°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 4.6 km horizontally, 4.3 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.10
Depth from: From location
Station coverage gap: 72°
Stations used: 47

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 11 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes today Chile earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us70009ng1 (also filed as iscgem618317172). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 2:40 PM UTC.