Chile earthquakes

M4.0 earthquake 124 km NW of Vallenar, Chile

A magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck 124 km NW of Vallenar, Chile on Thu, Sep 3, 2020, 11:36 AM GMT-4 (15:36 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.8 107 km NW of Vallenar, Chile. This one was a foreshock.

Vallenar forecastMore in Chile

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

The earthquake

Magnitude
4.0 (Mwr, regional moment), light
Magnitude from
USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time
UTC
2020-09-03 15:36:11 UTC
Depth
10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter
27.878° S, 71.747° 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
Reverse (thrust)
Moment magnitude
4.0 Mwr
Nodal plane 1
Strike 19°, dip 33°, rake 105°
Nodal plane 2
Strike 182°, dip 58°, rake 81°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty
About 4.7 km horizontally, 1.9 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.05
Depth from
Operator assigned
Station coverage gap
188°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
57

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 18 in the 60 days after this one and 42 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us7000bh7p. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 2:02 PM UTC.