February 22, 1798 Earthquake: Matina, Costa Rica
An earthquake struck Matina, Costa Rica on February 22, 1798. 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
- February 22, 1798
- Place
- Matina, Costa Rica
- Intensity
- 6 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 10.200° N, 82.900° W
- Country
- Costa Rica
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this earthquake.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Gonzalez-Viquez (1910, reference #1539) reproduces the report of earthquakes from the Commander of Matina on 22 February 1798, who also said “since the earthquakes started, the sea is so restless that it seems is going to come over us” (p. 16; translated by the authors). This description very likely corresponds to a tsunami but again could have an alternate explanation such as wind waves. Also, there is only one report at one place and from one source and thus we classified this event as probable tsunami. Although this event is referred to Matina, the correct location of the report is Boca Matina, the mouth of Matina river. This event is included at the Tsunami Catalogue for Central America 1539-1996 (Molina, 1997; reference #273) and the authors did not find new information related to this event.
1798 Feb 22. 10.2 N 52.9 W (reference #273)
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
- 1746, Matina, Costa Rica
- May 7, 1822, Matina, Costa Rica
More
Significant earthquakes of 1798The 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 5934.