August 23, 1715 Earthquake: Arica, Moquegua, Arequipa, Chile, Peru
A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Arica, Moquegua, Arequipa, Chile, Peru on August 23, 1715 at 00:00 UTC, 80 km below the surface. 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
- August 23, 1715
- Time
- 00:00 UTC
- Place
- Arica, Moquegua, Arequipa, Chile, Peru
- Magnitude
- 7.5 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 80 km (50 mi)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 17.300° S, 70.800° W
- Country
- Peru
The toll
- Deaths
- Few (about 1 to 50)
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Few (about 1 to 50)
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.
August 22, 1715, northern Chile, 18.5 S, 70.3 W, magnitude 7.5, tsunami generated. (reference #552)
August 22, 1715, at 7 p.m. Great earthquake in Moquegua, Peru (17.18 S, 70.93 W), which also ruined Arica, Chile (18.5 S, 70.33 W) and caused large landslides, etc. Magnitude about 7.5. (reference #252)
August 22, 1715, magnitude 7.5. (reference #164)
August 22, 1715, 24 UTC, 16.8 S, 71.5 W, depth 80 km, magnitude 7.9, intensity VII. (references #1218 and #1221)
August 23, 1715, 17.3 S, 70.8 W, depth 80 km, intensity VII, landslides, casualties. (reference #1208)
August 22, 1715, Arequipa, Peru (16.4 S, 71.55 W), intensity about VII M. Several houses remained in bad condition that they were demolished. (reference #1102)
08 Aug 1715. Magnitude 8. A great earthquake in Moquegua, Peru ruined Arica and caused great landslides. (reference #12425)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- August 13, 1868, Arica, Chile
- February 19, 1600, Volcan Huaynaputina, Peru
- September 18, 1833, Arica, Tacna, Chile, Peru, Peru-Chile
- May 13, 1784, Arequipa,camana,moquegua,tambo, Peru
- November 24, 1604, Arica, Arequipa, Chile, Peru
- July 23, 1991, Maca, Chivay, Yanque, Peru
- January 22, 1582, Socabaya,arequipa, Peru
- January 15, 1958, Arequipa, Peru
- May 11, 1948, Arequipa,moquegua,tacna,torata,quellaveco, Peru
- August 13, 1987, Arequipa, Tacna, Arica, Peru, Chile
- October 9, 1955, Mungui,la Union Prov,arequipa,toro,cotahuasi, Peru
- July 7, 2001, Arequipa, Arica, Peru
- July 8, 2008, Arequipa, Peru
- February 6, 1716, Pueblo DE Torata IN Tacna, Peru
- July 12, 2022, Moquegua, Arequipa, Peru
More
Significant earthquakes of 1715The 1700sRecent 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 5996.