M4.2 earthquake 30 km NW of Coquimbo, Chile
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 30 km NW of Coquimbo, Chile on Thu, Jan 7, 2021, 3:19 PM GMT-3 (18:19 UTC), 28 km (17 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.9 33 km SW of Coquimbo, 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
- 2021-01-07 18:19:09 UTC
- Depth
- 27.6 km (17.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 29.799° S, 71.599° 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
- 4.2 Mwr
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 5°, dip 28°, rake 103°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 170°, dip 63°, rake 83°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 3.4 km horizontally, 4.1 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.05
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 119°
- Stations used
- 64
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 8 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.034 km WNW of Coquimbo, Chile · 2094 days ago · 21 km deep · 5 km away
- 4.933 km SW of Coquimbo, Chile · 2083 days ago · 33 km deep · 38 km away · felt by 2
- 3.854 km W of Ovalle, Chile · 2078 days ago · 30 km deep · 89 km away
- 4.356 km NNE of La Serena, Chile · 2071 days ago · 58 km deep · 63 km away
- 4.320 km NNW of La Serena, Chile · 2069 days ago · 40 km deep · 30 km away · felt by 1
- 4.111 km NW of Coquimbo, Chile · 2059 days ago · 36 km deep · 19 km away
- 4.457 km N of La Serena, Chile · 2056 days ago · 42 km deep · 58 km away · felt by 1
- 4.969 km NNW of La Serena, Chile · 2051 days ago · 39 km deep · 50 km away · felt by 5
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us6000d6id. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 1:30 PM UTC.