June 11, 1952 Earthquake: San Juan, Argentina
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck San Juan, Argentina on June 11, 1952 at 00:31:43 UTC, 25 km below the surface. It killed 5 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
- June 11, 1952
- Time
- 00:31:43 UTC
- Place
- San Juan, Argentina
- Magnitude
- 6.8 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 25 km (16 mi)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 31.672° S, 68.483° W
- Country
- Argentina
The toll
- Deaths
- 5
- Injuries
- 35
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 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.
Felt in San Juan, Santa Lucia, Desamparados, and Concepcion Provinces. 1 killed and 15 injured at San Juan, and 4 killed, 20 injured at Maradona. Mag. about 7. (reference #45)
It affected the departments of Pocito, Zonda and Ullum. The most significant damage was recorded in the localities of El Abanico, Villa Aberastain and La Rinconada in Pocito; also in Carpinteria and the town of Zonda. (reference #14044)
1952-06-11 00:31:43.70 UTC, 31.672 S 68.483 W, magnitude 6.83 Mw (reference #10476, v.11)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- March 20, 1861, Mendoza, San Luiz, Argentina
- January 15, 1944, San Juan Province, Argentina
- December 17, 1920, Mendoza, Argentina
- November 23, 1977, Mendoza, San Juan Province, Argentina
- January 26, 1985, West Central, Mendoza, LA Ligua, Argentina
- August 12, 1903, Mendoza, Argentina
- January 19, 2021, San Juan Province, Argentina
- October 27, 1894, La Rioja, San Juan, Mendoza, Argentina
- January 15, 1940, San Juan, Argentina
- April 14, 1927, Mendoza, Chile, Argentina
- December 10, 2008, Potrerillos, Argentina
- May 22, 1782, Mendoza, Argentina
- August 5, 2006, Mendoza, Argentina
More
Significant earthquakes of 1952The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1952Recent 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 10882.