M4.0 earthquake 103 km N of Tocopilla, Chile
A magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck 103 km N of Tocopilla, Chile on Thu, Jan 20, 2022, 12:33 PM GMT-3 (15:33 UTC), 38 km (24 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.8 131 km SE of Iquique, Chile. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.0 (Mwr, regional moment), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2022-01-20 15:33:09 UTC
- Depth
- 38.0 km (23.6 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 21.159° S, 70.236° 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
- 4.0 Mwr
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 157°, dip 47°, rake 73°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 1°, dip 46°, rake 107°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 4.2 km horizontally, 7.3 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.06
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 171°
- Stations used
- 31
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 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.2116 km NE of Tocopilla, Chile · 1684 days ago · 13 km deep · 79 km away · felt by 1
- 4.8131 km SE of Iquique, Chile · 1664 days ago · 99 km deep · 94 km away · felt by 6
- 4.094 km NE of Tocopilla, Chile · 1664 days ago · 17 km deep · 70 km away · felt by 1
Before
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us7000gdjv. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 10:59 AM UTC.