1746 Earthquake: Matina, Costa Rica
An earthquake struck Matina, Costa Rica in 1746. 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
- 1746
- Place
- Matina, Costa Rica
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 10.200° N, 82.900° W
- Country
- Costa Rica
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 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.
Fort of San Fernando, built in 1742 at mouth of Matina river, was partially destroyed by the 1746 earthquake (reference #12929)
This earthquake was not mentioned by Gonzalez-Viquez (1910), who listed earthquakes in 1728 and 1756, and there is only one report at one place and from one source associated to this event. (reference #12928)
Note: lat/long is approximate, not found in literature.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- May 4, 1910, Cartago, San Jose, Costa Rica
- April 22, 1991, Limon, Pandora, Panama, Costa Rica
- December 30, 1952, Costa Rica
- January 8, 2009, La Paz, Costa Rica
- September 1, 1955, Costa Rica
- November 20, 2004, San Jose, Parrita, Quepos, Costa Rica
- December 5, 1941, Costa Rica-Panama
- April 3, 1983, W, SE, Panama, Costa Rica
- July 10, 1993, Turrialba, Cartago, Costa Rica
- July 3, 1983, San Jose, Costa Rica
- December 22, 1990, Alajuela, Santiago DE Puriscal, Costa Rica
- November 13, 2017, Jaco, Costa Rica
- December 25, 2003, Puerto Armuelles, Panama-Costa Rica
- February 22, 1798, Matina, Costa Rica
- May 7, 1822, Matina, Costa Rica
More
Significant earthquakes of 1746The 1700sRecent earthquakes near here
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 10541.