October 19, 1844 Earthquake: Salta, Jujuy, Tucuman, Argentina
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Salta, Jujuy, Tucuman, Argentina on October 19, 1844 at 01:30:00 UTC.
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
- October 19, 1844
- Time
- 01:30:00 UTC
- Place
- Salta, Jujuy, Tucuman, Argentina
- Magnitude
- 6.5 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 25.000° S, 66.000° W
- Country
- Argentina
The toll
- 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.
1844 Sep 18, 23h (reference #1203)
1844 Oct 18, 22h 30m. (reference #1211)
1844 Oct 18, Salta. It affected the city of Salta, where significant damage and destruction to homes was reported, and was also felt very strongly in the city of Jujuy. Aftershocks were felt up to 10 days later. The intensity was VII degrees Mercalli. (reference #14044)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 1844The 1800sRecent 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 1863.