M4.2 earthquake 92 km WSW of Copiapó, Chile
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 92 km WSW of Copiapó, Chile on Tue, Oct 19, 2021, 3:37 PM GMT-3 (18:37 UTC), 20 km (13 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.8 89 km NNW 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
- 4.2 (Mwr, regional moment), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2021-10-19 18:37:56 UTC
- Depth
- 20.4 km (12.7 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 27.675° S, 71.204° 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 II, weak 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
- 4.2 Mwr
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 165°, dip 59°, rake 64°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 28°, dip 40°, rake 126°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 3.6 km horizontally, 5.0 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.06
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 170°
- Stations used
- 42
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
Before
- 3.986 km WSW of Copiapó, Chile · 1815 days ago · 28 km deep · 20 km away
- 4.370 km WSW of Copiapó, Chile · 1816 days ago · 35 km deep · 23 km away
- 4.226 km WNW of Copiapó, Chile · 1819 days ago · 62 km deep · 72 km away · felt by 2
- 4.558 km WSW of Copiapó, Chile · 1823 days ago · 35 km deep · 35 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us6000fvyb. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 9:15 AM UTC.