M3.9 earthquake 68 km NW of Vallenar, Chile
A magnitude 3.9 earthquake struck 68 km NW of Vallenar, Chile on Sat, Dec 5, 2020, 7:38 PM GMT-3 (22:38 UTC), 30 km (19 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.3 92 km WNW of Vallenar, Chile. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 3.9 (Mwr, regional moment), minor
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2020-12-05 22:38:43 UTC
- Depth
- 29.9 km (18.6 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 28.222° S, 71.334° 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
- 3.9 Mwr
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 114°, dip 44°, rake 12°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 15°, dip 82°, rake 133°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 4.4 km horizontally, 5.5 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.05
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 140°
- Stations used
- 37
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 5 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.283 km WNW of Vallenar, Chile · 2128 days ago · 26 km deep · 17 km away
- 4.392 km WNW of Vallenar, Chile · 2126 days ago · 18 km deep · 24 km away · felt by 1
- 4.066 km WNW of Vallenar, Chile · 2124 days ago · 29 km deep · 9 km away · felt by 1
Before
- 4.3122 km NW of Vallenar, Chile · 2137 days ago · 10 km deep · 60 km away
- 4.2117 km NW of Vallenar, Chile · 2142 days ago · 21 km deep · 56 km away
- 4.837 km WNW of Vallenar, Chile · 2148 days ago · 43 km deep · 32 km away · felt by 3
- 4.250 km WSW of Copiapó, Chile · 2154 days ago · 48 km deep · 94 km away
- 4.180 km WSW of Copiapó, Chile · 2156 days ago · 28 km deep · 60 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us7000cnhr. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 12:12 PM UTC.