Chile earthquakes

M1.8 earthquake 18 km ESE of Iquique, Chile

A magnitude 1.8 earthquake struck 18 km ESE of Iquique, Chile on Mon, Dec 21, 2020, 8:00 PM GMT-3 (23:00 UTC), 20 km (12 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.2 35 km NW of Iquique, Chile. This one was a foreshock.

Alto Hospicio 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
1.8 (ML, local (Richter)), micro
Magnitude from
USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time
UTC
2020-12-21 23:00:25 UTC
Depth
20.1 km (12.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter
20.293° S, 70.000° W
Region
Chile
Felt reports
1
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

What happened

The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.

Felt at Iquique.

From the USGS event page for us6000d245. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.

Did you feel it?

1 person reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was II, weak shaking.

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

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty
About 3.8 km horizontally, 11.4 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.09
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
137°
Stations used
14

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 11 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.388 km SSW of Iquique, Chile · 2107 days ago · 25 km deep · 89 km away · felt by 3
  2. 4.481 km NE of Iquique, Chile · 2098 days ago · 98 km deep · 77 km away · felt by 14
  3. 2.626 km ESE of Iquique, Chile · 2094 days ago · 43 km deep · 9 km away · felt by 3
  4. 4.3114 km SE of Iquique, Chile · 2093 days ago · 96 km deep · 98 km away · felt by 1
  5. 2.99 km ESE of Iquique, Chile · 2080 days ago · 48 km deep · 9 km away · felt by 2
  6. 4.048 km NE of Iquique, Chile · 2076 days ago · 65 km deep · 46 km away · felt by 10
  7. 5.235 km NW of Iquique, Chile · 2072 days ago · 59 km deep · 52 km away · felt by 54
  8. 3.713 km NNW of Iquique, Chile · 2064 days ago · 51 km deep · 29 km away · felt by 12
  9. 5.055 km WSW of Iquique, Chile · 2058 days ago · 26 km deep · 66 km away · felt by 43
  10. 4.489 km NE of Iquique, Chile · 2056 days ago · 96 km deep · 84 km away · felt by 10
  11. 3.6Near the coast of Tarapaca, Chile · 2055 days ago · 40 km deep · 32 km away · felt by 11

Before

  1. 3.967 km SSW of Iquique, Chile · 2119 days ago · 70 km deep · 67 km away · felt by 11
  2. 4.5107 km ESE of Iquique, Chile · 2123 days ago · 114 km deep · 90 km away · felt by 6
  3. 6.1115 km E of Iquique, Chile · 2127 days ago · 105 km deep · 99 km away · felt by 104
  4. 4.398 km E of Iquique, Chile · 2137 days ago · 99 km deep · 84 km away · felt by 1

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us6000d245. Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 8:18 AM UTC.