M4.2 earthquake 100 km NW of Coquimbo, Chile
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 100 km NW of Coquimbo, Chile on Wed, Aug 5, 2020, 11:24 PM GMT-4 (03:24 UTC), 36 km (22 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.5 30 km W of Coquimbo, 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
- 2020-08-06 03:24:03 UTC
- Depth
- 36.1 km (22.4 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 29.326° S, 72.085° 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
- Oblique reverse
- Moment magnitude
- 4.2 Mwr
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 201°, dip 52°, rake 125°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 333°, dip 50°, rake 54°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 5.6 km horizontally, 5.7 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.04
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 101°
- Stations used
- 51
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.530 km W of Coquimbo, Chile · 2243 days ago · 39 km deep · 84 km away
- 4.1130 km WSW of Vallenar, Chile · 2216 days ago · 17 km deep · 45 km away
- 4.380 km NW of Coquimbo, Chile · 2215 days ago · 10 km deep · 21 km away
- 4.285 km SW of Vallenar, Chile · 2210 days ago · 29 km deep · 68 km away
- 4.176 km W of Vallenar, Chile · 2209 days ago · 38 km deep · 99 km away
- 4.171 km N of La Serena, Chile · 2195 days ago · 35 km deep · 80 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us6000b9yl. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 6:49 AM UTC.