Significant earthquakes of 1869

March 6, 1869 Earthquake: San Cristobal, Bogota, Venezuela, Colombia

March 6, 1869

An earthquake struck San Cristobal, Bogota, Venezuela, Colombia on March 6, 1869 at 11:30 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
March 6, 1869
Time
11:30 UTC
Place
San Cristobal, Bogota, Venezuela, Colombia
Tsunami
None recorded
Epicenter
7.700° N, 73.300° W
Country
Colombia

The toll

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.

March 6, 1869. Bogota and valley of Magdalena. III. (reference #1908)

March 6 and 11, 1869. Colombia and northern Venezuela, Bogota, Magdalenenstromcs and Braneo, intensity III which corresponds to an earthquake which destroyed

towns and devastated districts. (reference #1055)

March 6, 1869. Bogota. The tremor of the 6 shook all the region from Bogota in the south to the coast of Venezuela in the north. It had its point of origin in the Eastern Mountain range and one felt especially it last in the valley of the Magdalena river. In the Bank the 3 strongest shocks than have been experienced until now. All the houses have been shaken more or less and in the ground they appeared cracks in several points. (reference #1118)

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

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 2152.