M4.9 earthquake 38 km ENE of Calama, Chile

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 38 km ENE of Calama, Chile on Mon, Dec 19, 2022, 5:10 PM GMT-3 (20:10 UTC), 113 km (70 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.1 71 km S of Calama, Chile. This one was a foreshock.

Map

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

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
4.9	Mww, W-phase moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.083 · 14 stations
4.9	Mwr, regional moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Moment tensor · Reviewed

1 person reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was I, not felt shaking.

How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.

Reviewed by a seismologist.

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

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 17 in the 60 days after this one and 7 in the 30 days before it.

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us6000jae1. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 8:39 PM UTC.