M4.2 earthquake 51 km NNE of Calama, Chile
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 51 km NNE of Calama, Chile on Thu, Aug 27, 2020, 11:52 AM GMT-4 (15:52 UTC), 120 km (74 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.9 87 km NE 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
- 2020-08-27 15:52:53 UTC
- Depth
- 119.6 km (74.3 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 22.051° S, 68.682° 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
- Strike-slip
- Moment magnitude
- 4.2 Mwr
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 274°, dip 29°, rake 15°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 171°, dip 83°, rake 118°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 5.4 km horizontally, 6.4 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.09
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 50°
- Stations used
- 44
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.395 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 2213 days ago · 122 km deep · 44 km away
- 4.987 km NE of Calama, Chile · 2201 days ago · 127 km deep · 36 km away · felt by 2
- 4.064 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 2201 days ago · 119 km deep · 15 km away
- 4.036 km NW of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile · 2200 days ago · 114 km deep · 73 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us7000bdtx. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 11:25 AM UTC.