Significant earthquakes of 1873

July 7, 1873 Earthquake: Ligua, Quillolta, Chile

July 7, 1873 · Deaths: few

An earthquake struck Ligua, Quillolta, Chile on July 7, 1873 at 06:26 UTC. 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
July 7, 1873
Time
06:26 UTC
Place
Ligua, Quillolta, Chile
Epicenter
32.300° S, 71.160° W
Country
Chile

The toll

Deaths
Few (about 1 to 50)
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.

The earthquake of July 7 [1873] completely destroyed La Ligua, more or less destroyed Quillota, and did great damage to Limache and Petorca. There were victims. The earthquake lasted little more than a minute at the epicenter, and was accompanied by a thunderous rumble and was stronger than all preceding earthquakes in the 19th century. The homes rocked like ships in a storm at sea. The earthquake was felt at least from Mendosa and San Juan (Argentina) where it took the form of strong shocks, to 350 km from the coast out to sea and from Copiapo to Concepcion. The earthquake was accompanied by numerous recurrent shocks. The surface of the sea was calm for many days before and after the earthquake, as well as during these events. (reference #415)

July 7, 1873. Chile, Cuillola, Valparaiso, Santiago, reached southwards to Curico, intensity III which corresponds to an earthquake which destroyed towns and devastated districts. (reference #1055)

July 7, 1873, 06:26 UTC, 32.3 S, 71.16 W. (reference #1206)

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

More

Significant earthquakes of 1873The 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 9785.