February 3, 1610 Earthquake: La Grita,bailadores,merida, Venezuela
A magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck La Grita,bailadores,merida, Venezuela on February 3, 1610 at 19:30 UTC. It killed 60 people.
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
- February 3, 1610
- Time
- 19:30 UTC
- Place
- La Grita,bailadores,merida, Venezuela
- Magnitude
- 7.9
- Intensity
- 10 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 8.300° N, 71.800° W
- Country
- Venezuela
The toll
- Deaths
- 60
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Some (about 51 to 100)
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.
Not only did it destroy houses and convents, causing some 60 victims, which was a lot for “the few (people) who live in that land,” but the rivers and streams temporarily dried up, with the water disappearing into the openings in the earth that were formed in an instant; the next day they rose again, with murky waters. (reference #124)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- May 18, 1875, Cucuta,san Cayetano,villa del Rosario, Colombia
- April 29, 1894, N Santander, Merida,tovar, Colombia, Venezuela
- July 9, 1950, Anboledas, Colombia
- February 26, 1849, Tachira (Lobatera), Venezuela
- October 18, 1981, Venezuela-N Colombia
- November 7, 2015, Merida, Venezuela
- November 22, 2015, Merida, Venezuela
- April 3, 2018, Merida, Venezuela
- 1786, Merida, Venezuela
- November 26, 1980, E, Venezuela, Colombia
- February 17, 1869, San Cristobal,tachira (Lobatera), Venezuela
- August 12, 1834, Merida, Venezuela
- January 16, 1644, Merida, Pamploma,herran, Venezuela, Colombia
- February 15, 1796, N Santander,pamplona, Colombia
- March 16, 1644, Pamplona, San Cristobal, Colombia, Venezuela
More
Significant earthquakes of 1610The 1600sRecent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
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 849.