M4.9 earthquake 161 km N of Calama, Chile
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 161 km N of Calama, Chile on Sat, Sep 19, 2020, 6:26 AM GMT-3 (09:26 UTC), 124 km (77 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.9 (Mww, W-phase moment), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2020-09-19 09:26:49 UTC
- Depth
- 123.7 km (76.8 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 21.014° S, 68.689° W
- Region
- Chile
- Felt reports
- 6
- 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 · ±0.069 · 20 stations |
| 4.97 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 4.9 | Mwr, regional moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Moment tensor · Confirmed |
Did you feel it?
6 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was III, weak shaking.
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
- 4.9 Mwr
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 322°, dip 69°, rake -81°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 119°, dip 22°, rake -112°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 5.9 km horizontally, 4.0 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.07
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 34°
- Stations used
- 107
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 13 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.1144 km ESE of Iquique, Chile · 2202 days ago · 105 km deep · 32 km away
- 4.987 km NE of Calama, Chile · 2201 days ago · 127 km deep · 92 km away · felt by 2
- 4.3122 km ESE of Iquique, Chile · 2184 days ago · 98 km deep · 54 km away · felt by 9
- 4.3145 km ESE of Iquique, Chile · 2181 days ago · 108 km deep · 31 km away
- 4.2144 km WSW of Uyuni, Bolivia · 2180 days ago · 171 km deep · 74 km away
- 4.3130 km ESE of Iquique, Chile · 2177 days ago · 111 km deep · 46 km away
- 4.1130 km ESE of Iquique, Chile · 2163 days ago · 105 km deep · 57 km away · felt by 2
- 4.590 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 2162 days ago · 120 km deep · 83 km away
- 4.598 km NNE of Calama, Chile · 2159 days ago · 140 km deep · 67 km away
- 4.5135 km WSW of Uyuni, Bolivia · 2156 days ago · 163 km deep · 82 km away
- 4.8117 km E of Iquique, Chile · 2148 days ago · 85 km deep · 78 km away · felt by 23
- 4.3134 km N of Calama, Chile · 2147 days ago · 128 km deep · 41 km away
- 4.4122 km E of Iquique, Chile · 2144 days ago · 101 km deep · 83 km away · felt by 6
Before
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us7000bq5p (also filed as iscgem619100829). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 11:50 AM UTC.