March 12, 1878 Earthquake: Northern, Chile

Date

March 12, 1878

Place

Northern, Chile

Tsunami

Yes: the tsunami it caused

Epicenter

20.200° S, 70.100° W

Country

Chile

The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this earthquake.

• May 10, 1877, Off North Coast, ChileM8.3 · 2,385 deaths · 150 km
• June 13, 2005, Tarapaca, ChileM7.7 · 11 deaths · $5.1 million · 544 houses destroyed · 97 km
• April 1, 2014, Iquique, Alto Hospicio, Northern, ChileM8.2 · 7 deaths · $100 million · 96 km
• August 8, 1987, Arica, Iquique, ChileM6.9 · 5 deaths · $1 million · 1,000 houses destroyed · 131 km
• November 30, 1976, Pozo Almonte, Oficina Victoria, Arica, ChileM7.3 · 1 death · 128 km
• December 21, 1967, Northern, ChileM7.5 · 1 death · 178 km
• August 23, 1877, Iquique, Chile0 km
• April 12, 1878, Northern, Chile0 km
• July 14, 1881, Northern, Chile0 km
• November 12, 1885, Iquique, Chile0 km
• September 26, 1903, Iquique, Chile5 km
• October 5, 1871, ChileM7.3 · Deaths: few · 101 houses destroyed · 10 km
• January 23, 1878, Tarapaca, ChileM7.9 · Deaths: few · 40 km
• April 3, 2014, Iquique, Northern, ChileM7.7 · 58 km
• March 16, 2014, Iquique, ChileM6.7 · 67 km

Significant earthquakes of 1878The 1800sRecent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history

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 6196.