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Ecuador earthquakes in 1979

17 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or more were located in Ecuador in 1979. The largest: M7.7 56 km NW of Valdez, Ecuador, Dec 12, 1979.

From the USGS catalog. Times are local to each quake.

19781980

Map

Where every quake of 1979 was located in Ecuador. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

Every quake of 1979

Magnitude 4.5 and up, newest first.

Month by month

Counted by UTC date, which is how the catalog files them.

MonthQuakesLargestWhere
January 197914.827 km S of Tena, Ecuador
February 197914.817 km WSW of Esmeraldas, Ecuador
March 197925.69 km NW of Muisne, Ecuador
April 197924.540 km E of Puyo, Ecuador
May 197914.720 km N of Catamayo, Ecuador
June 197914.53 km E of Palora, Ecuador
July 19790
August 19790
September 197914.825 km WSW of Alausí, Ecuador
October 197915.091 km NW of Puerto Villamil, Ecuador
November 197914.836 km WSW of Puerto Villamil, Ecuador
December 197967.756 km NW of Valdez, Ecuador

What this means

The catalog is only as complete as the instruments of the time. Worldwide coverage of magnitude 5 and up dates from the 1960s, and of 4.5 from the 1990s; earlier years hold the large quakes and the ones near a station, so a low count in an early year means fewer instruments, not a quiet earth.

By year

Every year the USGS catalog covers.

Nearby

Ecuador nowWorldwide in 1979

Sources

Earthquakes, magnitudes, depths, shaking estimates and felt reports from the U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program, read from its live feeds and its catalog back to 1900. Tsunami messages from NOAA’s tsunami warning centers.