Chile earthquakes

M4.8 earthquake 107 km NW of Vallenar, Chile

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 107 km NW of Vallenar, Chile on Sat, Sep 5, 2020, 2:39 AM GMT-4 (06:39 UTC), 11 km (7 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.9 55 km W of Copiapó, Chile. This one was a foreshock.

Vallenar forecast More in Chile

Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 4.8 (Mwr, regional moment), light
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Sat, Sep 5, 2020, 2:39 AM GMT-4
UTC: 2020-09-05 06:39:41 UTC
Depth: 10.9 km (6.8 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 27.943° S, 71.588° 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
4.8	Mwr, regional moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.056 · 31 stations
4.98	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: 4.8 Mwr
Nodal plane 1: Strike 187°, dip 67°, rake 83°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 25°, dip 24°, rake 107°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 3.4 km horizontally, 2.9 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.06
Depth from: From location
Station coverage gap: 145°
Stations used: 68

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 13 in the 60 days after this one and 48 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes today Chile earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us7000bic8 (also filed as iscgem618979556). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 11:44 AM UTC.