December 9, 1950 Earthquake: Chile-Argentina
A magnitude 8 earthquake struck Chile-Argentina on December 9, 1950 at 21:38:48 UTC, 100 km below the surface. It killed 1 person.
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 9, 1950
- Time
- 21:38:48 UTC
- Place
- Chile-Argentina
- Magnitude
- 8 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 100 km (62 mi)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 23.500° S, 67.500° W
- Country
- Chile
The toll
- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- Some (about 51 to 100)
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 9, 1950, 21:38:48 UTC, 23.5 S, 67.5 W, depth 100 km, magnitude 8.3 MS. (reference #88)
December 9, 1950, 21:38:48 UTC, 23.5 S, 67.5 S, depth 100 km, magnitude 8.0 MS. (reference #130)
December 9, 1950, 21:38:44 UTC, 24 S, 67 W, depth about 100 km, magnitude 8.0 MS. 1 death and several injured at Calama, Chile. Also felt at Arica, Chile, and on board SS, Santa Margarita at 22 deg 42 min S, 71 deg 10 min W. (reference #45)
December 9, 1950, 21:38:48 UTC, 23.5 S, 67.5 W, depth 100 km, magnitude 8.0 MS, intensity VII, casualties. (reference #1206)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 1950The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1950Recent 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 3961.