February 4, 1921 Earthquake: Mexico-Guatemala
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Mexico-Guatemala on February 4, 1921 at 08:22:40 UTC, 15 km below the surface.
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
- February 4, 1921
- Time
- 08:22:40 UTC
- Place
- Mexico-Guatemala
- Magnitude
- 7.1 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 15 km (9 mi)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 15.662° N, 90.791° W
- Country
- Guatemala
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.
February 4, 1921, 08:22:44 UTC, 15 N, 91 W, depth 120 km, magnitude 7.5 MS. (reference #88)
February 4, 1921, 08:22:44 UTC, 15 N, 91 W, magnitude 7.5 MS. (reference #130)
February 4, 1921, 08:22:44 UTC, 15 N, 91 W, magnitude 7.5 MS. (reference #7896)
February 4, 1921, VII+: Tehuantepec (M). damage; no damage in Guatemala. (reference #14066) [Note: Tehuantepec is over 400km from epicenter in Guatemala as listed by ref #10476]
1921-02-04 08:22:40.62 UTC, 15.662 N 90.791 W, magnitude 7.11 Mw (reference #10476, v.11)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- February 4, 1976, Chimaltenango, Guatemala City
- December 26, 1917, Guatemala City
- April 19, 1902, Quezaltenango, San Marcos, Guatemala
- June 3, 1773, St. Jago, Guatemala
- September 3, 1874, Antigua,chimaltenango,amatitlan, Guatemala
- July 29, 1773, Antigua, Guatemala
- September 18, 1991, Guatemala City, Pachuta, Solola
- July 22, 1816, Soloma, Guatemala
- September 25, 1968, S Chiapas, Mexico-Guatemala
- July 29, 1978, Patzun, Guatemala
- July 8, 2025, Guatemala City, Escuintla, Sacatepequez
- June 14, 2017, Quetzaltenango, Suchitepequez, Mexico, Guatemala
- March 13, 1976, Guatemala
- February 16, 2022, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala, Quezaltenango
- September 19, 2011, Cuilapa Santa Rosa, Guatemala
More
Significant earthquakes of 1921The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1921Recent 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 3170.