M4.5 earthquake 59 km SW of Vallenar, Chile
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 59 km SW of Vallenar, Chile on Wed, Oct 7, 2020, 2:34 AM GMT-3 (05:34 UTC), 50 km (31 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.8 64 km N of La Serena, Chile. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.5 (Mwr, regional moment), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2020-10-07 05:34:22 UTC
- Depth
- 50.0 km (31.0 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 28.986° S, 71.157° W
- Region
- Chile
- Felt reports
- 1
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Did you feel it?
1 person reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was I, not felt shaking.
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
- 4.5 Mwr
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 7°, dip 65°, rake 88°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 193°, dip 25°, rake 95°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 4.5 km horizontally, 6.5 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.04
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 91°
- Stations used
- 67
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 5 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.864 km N of La Serena, Chile · 2165 days ago · 50 km deep · 38 km away · felt by 43
- 4.164 km N of La Serena, Chile · 2165 days ago · 46 km deep · 38 km away
- 4.837 km WNW of Vallenar, Chile · 2146 days ago · 43 km deep · 62 km away · felt by 3
- 3.913 km ENE of La Serena, Chile · 2144 days ago · 33 km deep · 98 km away · felt by 4
- 4.294 km NW of Coquimbo, Chile · 2141 days ago · 30 km deep · 89 km away · felt by 2
- 3.968 km NW of Vallenar, Chile · 2127 days ago · 30 km deep · 87 km away
- 4.283 km WNW of Vallenar, Chile · 2126 days ago · 26 km deep · 92 km away
Before
- 4.171 km N of La Serena, Chile · 2195 days ago · 35 km deep · 32 km away
- 4.462 km WNW of Vallenar, Chile · 2203 days ago · 38 km deep · 62 km away
- 4.176 km W of Vallenar, Chile · 2209 days ago · 38 km deep · 60 km away
- 4.285 km SW of Vallenar, Chile · 2210 days ago · 29 km deep · 31 km away
- 4.380 km NW of Coquimbo, Chile · 2215 days ago · 10 km deep · 86 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us6000c6bs. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 11:17 AM UTC.