M4.2 earthquake 85 km SW of Vallenar, Chile
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 85 km SW of Vallenar, Chile on Sun, Sep 13, 2020, 11:52 AM GMT-3 (14:52 UTC), 29 km (18 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
- 4.2 (Mwr, regional moment), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2020-09-13 14:52:50 UTC
- Depth
- 29.2 km (18.1 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 29.029° S, 71.470° 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
- Strike-slip
- Moment magnitude
- 4.2 Mwr
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 96°, dip 27°, rake 16°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 351°, dip 83°, rake 116°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 6.2 km horizontally, 2.4 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.08
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 144°
- Stations used
- 46
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.176 km W of Vallenar, Chile · 2209 days ago · 38 km deep · 51 km away
- 4.462 km WNW of Vallenar, Chile · 2203 days ago · 38 km deep · 63 km away
- 4.171 km N of La Serena, Chile · 2195 days ago · 35 km deep · 32 km away
- 4.559 km SW of Vallenar, Chile · 2186 days ago · 50 km deep · 31 km away · felt by 1
- 5.864 km N of La Serena, Chile · 2165 days ago · 50 km deep · 39 km away · felt by 43
- 4.164 km N of La Serena, Chile · 2165 days ago · 46 km deep · 41 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us7000bmq4. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 11:59 AM UTC.