December 17, 1920 Earthquake: Mendoza, Argentina

Name: December 17, 1920 Earthquake: Mendoza, Argentina
Start: 1920-12-17
Location: Mendoza, Argentina

December 17, 1920 · M6.7 · 400 deaths

A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck Mendoza, Argentina on December 17, 1920 at 19:00:04 UTC, 15 km below the surface. It killed 400 people.

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: December 17, 1920
Time: 19:00:04 UTC
Place: Mendoza, Argentina
Magnitude: 6.7 (Mw)
Focal depth: 15 km (9 mi)
Intensity: 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
Tsunami: None recorded
Epicenter: 31.905° S, 68.412° W
Country: Argentina

The toll

Deaths: 400
Injuries: Many (about 101 to 1,000)
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.

December 17, 1920, 18:59:49 UTC, 32.7 W, 68.4 W, depth 10 km, magnitude 6, intensity VIII, casualties. (reference #1203)

December 17, 1920, in Mendoza, 400 deaths. (reference #1173)

Mendoza, Argentina, December 17, 1920.--Several shocks, the first of which occurred at 3 p.m., December 17th, caused great loss of life and property in several town on the Argentine slope of the Andes mountains. Several towns were almost totally destroyed and over 100 lives were lost. (reference #7957)

It destroyed Costa de Araujo and surrounding localities within a radius of 50 km. An estimated 250 people were killed and a large number injured. Cracks were formed in the ground from which water emerged, and in some places swamps were formed. Its intensity was estimated at VIII on the Mercalli scale. (reference #14044)

400 deaths (reference #1250)

1920-12-17 19:00:04.57 UTC, 31.905 S 68.412 W, magnitude 6.74 Mw (reference #10476, v.11)

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

Significant earthquakes of 1920 The 1900s Every quake the USGS located in 1920 Recent earthquakes near here This 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 3167.