January 20, 1905 Earthquake: Puntarenas, Costa Rica
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Puntarenas, Costa Rica on January 20, 1905 at 18:23 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
- January 20, 1905
- Time
- 18:23 UTC
- Place
- Puntarenas, Costa Rica
- Magnitude
- 6.8 (Ms)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 9.850° N, 84.680° W
- Country
- Costa Rica
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 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.
1905, January 20, 1808 UTC. 10 N, 84.25 W, magnitude 6.47 MS, 6.28 mb. (reference #7896)
1905, January 20, 18:23 UTC. 9.8 N, 84.68 W, magnitude 6.8 MS. Boschini (personal communication (Agustin Guido, 1905)): "The conversation fell on January 20 quake, which was an earthquake in Puntarenas. We never said they felt tremors island; but on that date at about eight in the evening, the tide beginning to empty, I noticed with surprise that in less than five minutes the sea more than 69 feet retirement; and 8 minutes had elapsed when it returned with such impetuosity and noise, which flooded the whole yard, ripping some palm trees near the mouth of the river; the phenomenon makes it prejudge the existence from a nearby submarine volcano on the island, with whose opinion we agree, for four years I was experienced in Puntarenas and the Nicoya Peninsula trembling almost equal to the 20th, we conceived the suspicion of the existence of an underwater volcano in our neighborhood. " (reference #273)
1905, January 20. Central Pacific. Felt from Nicaragua to Panama, damage south of Puntarenas and the Central Valley. (reference #1685)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- May 4, 1910, Cartago, San Jose, Costa Rica
- April 22, 1991, Limon, Pandora, Panama, Costa Rica
- December 30, 1952, Costa Rica
- April 14, 1973, Tilaran, Arenal, Rio Chiquito, Costa Rica
- January 8, 2009, La Paz, Costa Rica
- September 1, 1955, Costa Rica
- November 20, 2004, San Jose, Parrita, Quepos, Costa Rica
- December 22, 1990, Alajuela, Santiago DE Puriscal, Costa Rica
- November 13, 2017, Jaco, Costa Rica
- September 5, 2012, Nicoya, Costa Rica
- July 3, 1983, San Jose, Costa Rica
- July 10, 1993, Turrialba, Cartago, Costa Rica
- March 25, 1990, Puntarenas, San Jose, Costa Rica
- March 4, 1924, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
- June 8, 1990, Santiago DE Puriscal, Costa Rica
More
Significant earthquakes of 1905The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1905Recent 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 10144.