June 16, 1961 Earthquake: Northeastern Colombia
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Northeastern Colombia on June 16, 1961 at 10:31:57 UTC, 120 km below the surface. 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
- June 16, 1961
- Time
- 10:31:57 UTC
- Place
- Northeastern Colombia
- Magnitude
- 6.5 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 120 km (75 mi)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 8.900° N, 73.400° W
- Country
- Colombia
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this earthquake.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
1961, June 16, 10:31:57.3 UTC, 8.9 N, 73.4 W, magnitude 6.5 MS, depth 94 km, intensity V-VI at San Cristobal. (reference #1040)
1961, June 16, 05:31:56 [local time], 8.8 N, 73.4 W, Culebritas, N. Santander, magnitude 6.2, depth 94 km. (reference #1118)
1961, June 16, 10:31:56.0 UTC, 7.809 N, 73.508 W, magnitude 6.0 mb, intensity VI, depth 110 km. (reference #1219)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- May 18, 1875, Cucuta,san Cayetano,villa del Rosario, Colombia
- April 29, 1894, N Santander, Merida,tovar, Colombia, Venezuela
- July 9, 1950, Anboledas, Colombia
- February 3, 1610, La Grita,bailadores,merida, Venezuela
- October 18, 1981, Venezuela-N Colombia
- March 6, 1869, San Cristobal, Bogota, Venezuela, Colombia
- November 26, 1980, E, Venezuela, Colombia
- March 16, 1644, Pamplona, San Cristobal, Colombia, Venezuela
- September 1799, Cartago, Colombia
- February 15, 1796, N Santander,pamplona, Colombia
- January 16, 1644, Merida, Pamploma,herran, Venezuela, Colombia
- April 3, 2018, Merida, Venezuela
More
Significant earthquakes of 1961The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1961Recent 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 6917.