1537 Earthquake: Southern, Mexico
An earthquake struck Southern, Mexico in 1537. It caused a tsunami.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- 1537
- Place
- Southern, Mexico
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Country
- Mexico
The toll
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
1537. Mexico, Valley of Mexico. Intensity III which corresponds to an earthquake which destroyed towns and devastated districts. (reference #1055)
1537. There was an earthquake in the Valley of Mexico. It is possible that the source of the earthquake was in some adjacent state: Guerrero, Puebla or Veracruz (Milne, 1912b, reference #1055, Montandon, 1962, reference #1908). According to a Japanese catalogue (Anon., 1961 b), the coast of Mexico was hit by a tsunami. Iida et al. (1967), quite justifiably, express doubt as to the reliability of these data. (reference #415)
The earthquake of 11 November 1537 can be considered the first for which there is a historic record, although doubtful, and of a tsunami. It is also the first recorded, since the arrival of the Spanish, which mentions damage on the coast of the Mexican Pacific, so it could also be considered the first subduction earthquake reported of the colonial era. (reference #12967)
1537. Very strong and catastrophic earthquake in the subduction zone south of Mexico City (reference #13078)
More
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 9790.