February 2, 1735 Earthquake: Popayan, Colombia
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck Popayan, Colombia on February 2, 1735 at 18:00 UTC, 20 km below the surface.
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 2, 1735
- Time
- 18:00 UTC
- Place
- Popayan, Colombia
- Magnitude
- 4.5 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 20 km (12 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 2.600° N, 76.500° W
- Country
- Colombia
The toll
- Deaths
- Few (about 1 to 50)
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000)
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.
1735, February 2, 18h, 2.5 N, 76.5 W, depth 20 km, magnitude 4.5 MS, fatalities. (reference #1219)
1735, February 2. Colombia, Popayan, intensity III which corresponds to an earthquake which destroyed
towns and devastated districts. (reference #1055)
1735, 2 fevrier. - Popayan, Colombie du sud. III. (reference #1908)
1735, February 2. In Popayan, a furious shaking that took place most of the houses were overthrown. (reference #1532)
1736 [probably 1735], February 2, 14h, 2.5 N, 76.5 W, magnitude 6, intensity VIII, damage. (reference #1205)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- June 6, 1994, Cauca, Huila, Colombia
- March 31, 1983, SW, Popayan, Colombia
- November 16, 1827, Bogota, Neiva, Popayan, Pasto, Huila, Colombia
- February 9, 1967, Huila, Neiva, Rivera,san Antonio, Colombia
- February 8, 1995, Cali, Pereira, Armenia, Calarca, Colombia
- August 7, 1935, Funes, Colombia
- July 14, 1947, Pasto, Colombia
- June 12, 2018, Pasto, Colombia
- January 26, 2019, Cauca, Huila, Colombia
- April 25, 1751, Popayan, Colombia
- May 25, 1885, Popayan, Colombia
- March 6, 2007, Cauca, Sotara, Purace,, Colombia
- 1566, Colombia
- February 3, 1906, Colombia
- July 9, 1766, Buga,cali,popayan, Colombia
More
Significant earthquakes of 1735The 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 1263.