M4.9 earthquake 102 km SW of Taltal, Chile
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 102 km SW of Taltal, Chile on Tue, Oct 13, 2020, 2:16 PM GMT-3 (17:16 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.7 46 km WSW of Taltal, Chile. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.9 (Mwr, regional moment), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2020-10-13 17:16:15 UTC
- Depth
- 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 26.135° S, 71.110° 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 | Mwr, regional moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.052 · 36 stations |
| 5.01 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
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
- Reverse (thrust)
- Moment magnitude
- 4.9 Mwr
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 184°, dip 81°, rake 89°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 8°, dip 9°, rake 94°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 2.2 km horizontally, 1.6 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.05
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 99°
- Stations used
- 79
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us6000c826 (also filed as iscgem619481080). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 8:13 AM UTC.