February 17, 1869 Earthquake: San Cristobal,tachira (Lobatera), Venezuela
An earthquake struck San Cristobal,tachira (Lobatera), Venezuela on February 17, 1869 at 04:00 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
- February 17, 1869
- Time
- 04:00 UTC
- Place
- San Cristobal,tachira (Lobatera), Venezuela
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 7.500° N, 72.100° W
- Country
- Venezuela
The toll
- Deaths
- Few (about 1 to 50)
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 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.
This earthquake is reported to have caused widespread destruction in San Cristobal and Lobatera, where it wreaked havoc and claimed victims; it was felt in other towns in Tachira (Centeno, 1940). Days earlier, on February 13, a strong earthquake was felt in San Cristobal, coinciding with destructive earthquakes in El Banco Cartagena and Managague (Santander, Colombia). A little less than two years earlier, strong tremors occurred in Tovar, on Good Friday, April 19, 1867, at 7:30 p.m., causing damage to churches, and at 8:00 p.m. on the same day, in San Cristobal, which was felt as far north as Carache and in Merida. The tremors recurred in Tovar on April 25, creating such consternation that the population abandoned their homes. The church in Zea suffered damage, and homes were damaged in Guaraque (Perrey, 1870). (reference #124)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- May 18, 1875, Cucuta,san Cayetano,villa del Rosario, Colombia
- April 29, 1894, N Santander, Merida,tovar, Colombia, Venezuela
- July 9, 1950, Anboledas, Colombia
- February 3, 1610, La Grita,bailadores,merida, Venezuela
- February 26, 1849, Tachira (Lobatera), Venezuela
- July 29, 1967, Colombia
- October 18, 1981, Venezuela-N Colombia
- April 18, 1974, NE, Cepita, San Andreas, Colombia
- November 7, 2015, Merida, Venezuela
- November 22, 2015, Merida, Venezuela
- January 16, 1644, Merida, Pamploma,herran, Venezuela, Colombia
- February 15, 1796, N Santander,pamplona, Colombia
- November 26, 1980, E, Venezuela, Colombia
- March 16, 1644, Pamplona, San Cristobal, Colombia, Venezuela
- April 3, 2018, Merida, Venezuela
More
Significant earthquakes of 1869The 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 2151.