July 12, 1785 Earthquake: Bogota,engativa,caxica,soacha, Colombia
An earthquake struck Bogota,engativa,caxica,soacha, Colombia on July 12, 1785 at 12:45 UTC. It killed 12 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
- July 12, 1785
- Time
- 12:45 UTC
- Place
- Bogota,engativa,caxica,soacha, Colombia
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 4.600° N, 74.000° W
- Country
- Colombia
The toll
- Deaths
- 12
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 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.
1785, July 12. At the Church of Santo Domingo, 9 women and 3 men were killed. (reference #1118)
1785, July 12, 7:45 a.m. Colombia, Bogota, Ibague. Intensity II which corresponds to buildings may be unroofed or shattered and some may fall, the ground may be badly cracked in places and small landslips occur. (reference #1055)
1785, July 11. Bogota; Ibague, a Pouest de Bogota. Intensity II. (reference #1908)
1785, July 12. 4.6 N, 74 W, Intensity VIII - Bogota. The repairs will cost 600,000 pesos. (reference #1211)
1785, July 12. Bogota, Colombia. (reference #1002)
1785, July 12. Santa Fe de Bogota. Two churches were thrown down. (reference #497)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- January 25, 1999, Armenia, Calarca, Pereira, Caldas, Huila, Colombia
- February 19, 1845, Magdalena River, Colombia
- June 16, 1805, Honda,mariquita, Colombia
- December 20, 1961, Eje Cafetero, Colombia
- December 22, 1923, Gachala,gacheta,ubala,medina, Colombia
- January 19, 1995, Bogota, Manizales, Miraflores, Colombia
- September 4, 1966, Colombia
- May 24, 2008, Meta, Quetame, Colombia
- February 5, 1938, Eje Cafetero, Colombia
- August 31, 1917, Bogota, Ubaque, Soacha, Caqueza, Colombia
- August 17, 2023, Bogota, Boyaca, Cundinamarca, Meta,, Colombia
- September 18, 1900, Colombia
- August 8, 1903, Colombia
- July 11, 1906, Colombia
- July 14, 1906, Colombia
More
Significant earthquakes of 1785The 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 1481.