List of earthquakes in Chile

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The strongest known Chilean earthquakes ≥ 8.5 M since the year 1500. The subduction of the fast-moving Nazca Plate has a history of producing massive quakes.

This list of earthquakes in Chile includes every known major earthquake that was felt or with its epicenter within Chile's current boundaries.

Statistics and Map[edit]

Century Number with
M ≥ 7.0		 Average per
decade
1501–1600 3 -
1601–1700 6 -
1701–1800 4 -
1801–1900 19 -
1901–2000 76 7.6
2001–present 15 7.5
Total 123 -

Statistics for earthquakes with M ≥ 7.0 in Chile are detailed on the list below.

The region, which is adjacent to the fast-moving Nazca Plate, has high tectonic activity. To keep the list manageable, only earthquakes with magnitude ≥ 7.0 will be included, or if it has other notable features like the 2010 Pichilemu earthquake. The records for earlier centuries are apparently incomplete.

Of the world's 36 known earthquakes with M ≥ 8.5 since the year 1500, one-third occurred in Chile and are shown in the map to the side. Some virtually have the same epicenters like the 1604 and 1868 (in Arica), the 1730 and 1822 (in Valparaíso), the 1751 and 1835 (in Concepción), and the 1575 and 1837 (in Valdivia).

The strongest known recorded in modern times was also in Chile, the 1960 Valdivia earthquake.

Earthquakes[edit]

Region Local
date		 Mag. MMI Depth
(km)		 Epicenter Deaths Notes Sources
Caldera September 1, 1420 9.4 MS[1][2] Destructive tsunami in Chile, Hawaii & Japan
Concepción February 8, 1570 8.3 MS 36°48′00″S 73°00′00″W / 36.800°S 73.000°W / -36.800; -73.000 Destructive tsunami
March 17, 1575 7.3 MS 33°24′00″S 70°36′00″W / 33.400°S 70.600°W / -33.400; -70.600
Valdivia December 16, 1575 8.5 MS 39°48′00″S 73°12′00″W / 39.800°S 73.200°W / -39.800; -73.200 Destructive tsunami
Offshore Arica November 24, 1604 8.5 MS 30 18°30′00″S 70°24′00″W / 18.500°S 70.400°W / -18.500; -70.400 Destructive tsunami
Offshore Arica September 16, 1615 7.5[3] MS 18°30′00″S 70°21′00″W / 18.500°S 70.350°W / -18.500; -70.350 Moderate tsunami
Santiago May 13, 1647 8.5 MS 35°00′00″S 72°00′00″W / 35.000°S 72.000°W / -35.000; -72.000
March 15, 1657 8.0 MS 36°49′48″S 73°01′48″W / 36.830°S 73.030°W / -36.830; -73.030 Destructive tsunami
March 10, 1681 7.3 MS 18°30′00″S 70°21′00″W / 18.500°S 70.350°W / -18.500; -70.350
July 12, 1687 7.3 MS 32°45′00″S 70°43′48″W / 32.750°S 70.730°W / -32.750; -70.730
Valparaíso July 8, 1730 8.7 MS/9.1 MW[4] 33°03′00″S 71°37′48″W / 33.050°S 71.630°W / -33.050; -71.630 5 Destructive tsunami
Valdivia December 24, 1737 7.7 MS 39°48′00″S 73°12′00″W / 39.800°S 73.200°W / -39.800; -73.200 Tsunami
Concepción May 25, 1751 8.5 MS 36°49′48″S 73°01′48″W / 36.830°S 73.030°W / -36.830; -73.030 Moderate tsunami
March 30, 1796 7.7 MS 27°21′00″S 70°21′00″W / 27.350°S 70.350°W / -27.350; -70.350
April 11, 1819 8.3 MS 27°21′00″S 70°21′00″W / 27.350°S 70.350°W / -27.350; -70.350 Destructive tsunami
Valparaíso November 19, 1822 8.5 MS 33°03′00″S 71°37′48″W / 33.050°S 71.630°W / -33.050; -71.630 200 Moderate tsunami
September 26, 1829 7.0 MS 33°03′00″S 71°37′48″W / 33.050°S 71.630°W / -33.050; -71.630
October 8, 1831 7.8 MS 18°30′00″S 71°00′00″W / 18.500°S 71.000°W / -18.500; -71.000
September 18, 1833 7.7 MS 60 18°30′00″S 70°24′00″W / 18.500°S 70.400°W / -18.500; -70.400
Concepción February 20, 1835 8.5/8.2 MS/M? 36°49′48″S 73°01′48″W / 36.830°S 73.030°W / -36.830; -73.030 500 Destructive tsunami
Valdivia November 7, 1837 8.0 MS 39°48′00″S 73°12′00″W / 39.800°S 73.200°W / -39.800; -73.200 Moderate tsunami
October 8, 1847 7.3 MS 31°36′36″S 71°10′48″W / 31.610°S 71.180°W / -31.610; -71.180
December 17, 1849 7.5 MS 29°57′00″S 71°22′12″W / 29.950°S 71.370°W / -29.950; -71.370 Moderate tsunami
December 6, 1850 7.3 MS 33°48′36″S 70°13′12″W / 33.810°S 70.220°W / -33.810; -70.220
April 2, 1851 7.1 MS 33°19′12″S 71°25′12″W / 33.320°S 71.420°W / -33.320; -71.420
October 5, 1859 7.6 MS 27°21′00″S 70°21′00″W / 27.350°S 70.350°W / -27.350; -70.350 Moderate tsunami
Arica August 13, 1868 9.0/8.5 M?/MS 18°30′00″S 70°21′00″W / 18.500°S 70.350°W / -18.500; -70.350 25,000 Destructive tsunami, at the time the area was part of Peru.
August 24, 1869 7.5 MS 19°36′00″S 70°13′48″W / 19.600°S 70.230°W / -19.600; -70.230 Moderate tsunami
October 5, 1871 7.3 MS 20°12′00″S 70°10′12″W / 20.200°S 70.170°W / -20.200; -70.170 Tsunami
Iquique May 9, 1877 8.8 MS/M? 19°36′00″S 70°13′48″W / 19.600°S 70.230°W / -19.600; -70.230 2,385 Destructive tsunami
January 23, 1878 7.9 MS 40 20°00′00″S 70°18′00″W / 20.000°S 70.300°W / -20.000; -70.300
February 2, 1879 7.3 MS 53°00′00″S 70°40′12″W / 53.000°S 70.670°W / -53.000; -70.670
August 15, 1880 7.7 MS 31°37′12″S 71°10′48″W / 31.620°S 71.180°W / -31.620; -71.180
Valparaíso August 16, 1906 8.2 MW 25 33°00′00″S 72°00′00″W / 33.000°S 72.000°W / -33.000; -72.000 3,882 Moderate tsunami
June 8, 1909 7.6 MS 26°30′00″S 70°30′00″W / 26.500°S 70.500°W / -26.500; -70.500
October 4, 1910 7.3 MS 22°00′00″S 69°00′00″W / 22.000°S 69.000°W / -22.000; -69.000
September 15, 1911 7.3 MS 20°00′00″S 72°00′00″W / 20.000°S 72.000°W / -20.000; -72.000
January 29, 1914 8.2 MS 35°00′00″S 73°00′00″W / 35.000°S 73.000°W / -35.000; -73.000
February 14, 1917 7.0 MS 30°00′00″S 73°00′00″W / 30.000°S 73.000°W / -30.000; -73.000
May 20, 1918 7.9 MS 28°30′00″S 71°30′00″W / 28.500°S 71.500°W / -28.500; -71.500
December 4, 1918 8.2 MS 60 26°00′00″S 71°00′00″W / 26.000°S 71.000°W / -26.000; -71.000 Moderate tsunami
March 1, 1919 7.2 MS 40 41°00′00″S 73°30′00″W / 41.000°S 73.500°W / -41.000; -73.500
March 2, 1919 7.3 MS 40 41°00′00″S 73°30′00″W / 41.000°S 73.500°W / -41.000; -73.500
December 10, 1920 7.4 MS 39°00′00″S 73°00′00″W / 39.000°S 73.000°W / -39.000; -73.000
November 7, 1922 7.0 MS 28°00′00″S 72°00′00″W / 28.000°S 72.000°W / -28.000; -72.000
Vallenar November 10, 1922 8.5 MW 25 28°30′00″S 70°00′00″W / 28.500°S 70.000°W / -28.500; -70.000 1,000 Moderate tsunami
May 4, 1923 7.0 MS 60 28°45′00″S 71°45′00″W / 28.750°S 71.750°W / -28.750; -71.750
May 15, 1925 7.1 MS 50 26°00′00″S 71°30′00″W / 26.000°S 71.500°W / -26.000; -71.500
April 28, 1926 7.0 MS 180 24°00′00″S 69°00′00″W / 24.000°S 69.000°W / -24.000; -69.000
November 21, 1927 7.1 MS 44°30′00″S 73°00′00″W / 44.500°S 73.000°W / -44.500; -73.000 Moderate tsunami
November 20, 1928 7.1 MS 25 22°30′00″S 70°30′00″W / 22.500°S 70.500°W / -22.500; -70.500
Talca December 1, 1928 8.3/7.6 MS/M? 35°00′00″S 72°00′00″W / 35.000°S 72.000°W / -35.000; -72.000 225 Tsunami
October 19, 1929 7.5 MS 100 23°00′00″S 69°00′00″W / 23.000°S 69.000°W / -23.000; -69.000
March 18, 1931 7.1 MS 32°30′00″S 72°00′00″W / 32.500°S 72.000°W / -32.500; -72.000
February 23, 1933 7.6 MS 40 20°00′00″S 71°00′00″W / 20.000°S 71.000°W / -20.000; -71.000
March 1, 1936 7.1 MS 120 40°00′00″S 72°30′00″W / 40.000°S 72.500°W / -40.000; -72.500
July 13, 1936 7.3 MS 60 24°30′00″S 70°00′00″W / 24.500°S 70.000°W / -24.500; -70.000
Chillán January 24, 1939 8.3 Mw 60 36°12′00″S 72°12′00″W / 36.200°S 72.200°W / -36.200; -72.200 28,000
April 18, 1939 7.4 MS 100 27°00′00″S 70°30′00″W / 27.000°S 70.500°W / -27.000; -70.500
October 11, 1940 7.0 MS 41°30′00″S 74°30′00″W / 41.500°S 74.500°W / -41.500; -74.500
July 8, 1942 7.0 MS 140 24°00′00″S 70°00′00″W / 24.000°S 70.000°W / -24.000; -70.000
March 14, 1943 7.2 MS 150 20°00′00″S 69°30′00″W / 20.000°S 69.500°W / -20.000; -69.500
Ovalle April 6, 1943 8.2 MW 55 30°45′00″S 72°00′00″W / 30.750°S 72.000°W / -30.750; -72.000 25 Tsunami
December 1, 1943 7.0 MS 100 21°00′00″S 69°00′00″W / 21.000°S 69.000°W / -21.000; -69.000
July 13, 1945 7.1 MS 100 33°15′00″S 70°30′00″W / 33.250°S 70.500°W / -33.250; -70.500
August 2, 1946 7.9 MS 50 26°30′00″S 70°30′00″W / 26.500°S 70.500°W / -26.500; -70.500
April 19, 1949 7.3 MS 70 38°00′00″S 73°30′00″W / 38.000°S 73.500°W / -38.000; -73.500
April 25, 1949 7.3 MS 110 19°45′00″S 69°00′00″W / 19.750°S 69.000°W / -19.750; -69.000
May 29, 1949 7.0 MS 100 22°00′00″S 69°00′00″W / 22.000°S 69.000°W / -22.000; -69.000
Tierra del Fuego December 17, 1949 7.8 MS VIII 30 54°00′00″S 71°00′00″W / 54.000°S 71.000°W / -54.000; -71.000/54°0′0″S 68°46′11″W / 54.00000°S 68.76972°W / -54.00000; -68.76972[5] [5]
December 17, 1949 7.8 MS 54°00′00″S 71°00′00″W / 54.000°S 71.000°W / -54.000; -71.000
January 29, 1950 7.0 MS 53°30′00″S 71°30′00″W / 53.500°S 71.500°W / -53.500; -71.500
December 9, 1950 8.3 MS 100 23°30′00″S 67°30′00″W / 23.500°S 67.500°W / -23.500; -67.500
May 6, 1953 7.6 MS 60 36°30′00″S 72°36′00″W / 36.500°S 72.600°W / -36.500; -72.600
December 6, 1953 7.4 MS 128 22°06′00″S 68°42′00″W / 22.100°S 68.700°W / -22.100; -68.700
February 8, 1954 7.7 MS 29°00′00″S 70°30′00″W / 29.000°S 70.500°W / -29.000; -70.500
April 19, 1955 7.1 MS 30°00′00″S 72°00′00″W / 30.000°S 72.000°W / -30.000; -72.000 Tsunami
January 8, 1956 7.1 MS 11 19°00′00″S 70°00′00″W / 19.000°S 70.000°W / -19.000; -70.000
December 17, 1956 7.0 MS 25°30′00″S 68°30′00″W / 25.500°S 68.500°W / -25.500; -68.500
July 29, 1957 7.0 MS 23°30′00″S 71°30′00″W / 23.500°S 71.500°W / -23.500; -71.500
June 13, 1959 7.5 MS 83 20°25′12″S 69°00′00″W / 20.420°S 69.000°W / -20.420; -69.000
Concepción May 21, 1960 7.9/7.3 M?/MS X 37°30′00″S 73°30′00″W / 37.500°S 73.500°W / -37.500; -73.500 125
May 22, 1960 7.3 MS 37°30′00″S 73°00′00″W / 37.500°S 73.000°W / -37.500; -73.000
Valdivia May 22, 1960 9.5 Mw XI 33 39°30′00″S 74°30′00″W / 39.500°S 74.500°W / -39.500; -74.500 1,655 Destructive tsunami, strongest earthquake in recorded history.
June 19, 1960 7.3 MS 38°00′00″S 73°30′00″W / 38.000°S 73.500°W / -38.000; -73.500
November 1, 1960 7.4 MS 55 38°30′00″S 75°06′00″W / 38.500°S 75.100°W / -38.500; -75.100
July 13, 1961 7.0 MS 40 41°42′00″S 75°12′00″W / 41.700°S 75.200°W / -41.700; -75.200
February 14, 1962 7.3 MS 45 37°48′00″S 72°30′00″W / 37.800°S 72.500°W / -37.800; -72.500
August 3, 1962 7.1 MS 107 23°18′00″S 68°06′00″W / 23.300°S 68.100°W / -23.300; -68.100
Taltal February 23, 1965 7.0 MS 36 25°40′12″S 70°37′48″W / 25.670°S 70.630°W / -25.670; -70.630 1
La Ligua March 28, 1965 7.4 MS 68 32°25′05″S 71°06′00″W / 32.418°S 71.100°W / -32.418; -71.100 400
December 28, 1966 7.8 MS 23 25°30′36″S 70°44′24″W / 25.510°S 70.740°W / -25.510; -70.740
March 13, 1967 7.3 MS 33 40°07′12″S 74°40′48″W / 40.120°S 74.680°W / -40.120; -74.680
December 21, 1967 7.5 MS 33 21°48′00″S 70°00′00″W / 21.800°S 70.000°W / -21.800; -70.000
June 17, 1971 7.0 MS 76 25°24′07″S 69°03′29″W / 25.402°S 69.058°W / -25.402; -69.058
Illapel July 8, 1971 7.5 MS 40 32°30′40″S 71°12′25″W / 32.511°S 71.207°W / -32.511; -71.207 90 Moderate tsunami
August 18, 1974 7.1 MS 36 38°27′11″S 73°25′52″W / 38.453°S 73.431°W / -38.453; -73.431
May 10, 1975 7.7 MS 6 38°10′59″S 73°13′55″W / 38.183°S 73.232°W / -38.183; -73.232
November 29, 1976 7.3 MS 82 20°31′12″S 68°55′08″W / 20.520°S 68.919°W / -20.520; -68.919
August 3, 1979 7.0 MS 49 26°31′05″S 70°39′50″W / 26.518°S 70.664°W / -26.518; -70.664
October 16, 1981 7.5 MS 33 33°08′02″S 73°04′26″W / 33.134°S 73.074°W / -33.134; -73.074
October 4, 1983 7.3 MS 14 26°32′06″S 70°33′47″W / 26.535°S 70.563°W / -26.535; -70.563
Algarrobo March 3, 1985 8.0 Mw VIII 33 33°14′24″S 71°51′00″W / 33.240°S 71.850°W / -33.240; -71.850 177 Tsunami
Rapel Lake April 8, 1985 7.5 MS 37 34°07′52″S 71°37′05″W / 34.131°S 71.618°W / -34.131; -71.618 1
Iquique March 5, 1987 7.3 MS 62 24°23′17″S 70°09′40″W / 24.388°S 70.161°W / -24.388; -70.161 Tsunami
August 8, 1987 7.1 MS 42 19°00′00″S 70°00′00″W / 19.000°S 70.000°W / -19.000; -70.000
Antofagasta July 30, 1995 8.0 MW 47 23°21′36″S 70°18′36″W / 23.360°S 70.310°W / -23.360; -70.310 3 Tsunami
Punitaqui October 15, 1997 7.1 MW VIII 56 30°46′23″S 71°18′54″W / 30.773°S 71.315°W / -30.773; -71.315 8
Near coast of northern Chile January 30, 1998 7.1 M? VII 42 23°54′36″S 70°12′00″W / 23.910°S 70.200°W / -23.910; -70.200 1 Minor damage to older buildings
Tarapacá June 13, 2005 7.8 MW VII 108/117.2 19°53′42″S 69°07′30″W / 19.895°S 69.125°W / -19.895; -69.125/19°56′02″S 69°01′41″W / 19.934°S 69.028°W / -19.934; -69.028 11 Felt as far away as Santiago, Chile and Brasília, Brazil
Aisén Fjord April 21, 2007 6.2 Mw VII 25 45°16′S 72°40′W / 45.27°S 72.66°W / -45.27; -72.66 10
Tocopilla November 14, 2007 7.7 MW VIII 47.7/40 22°18′50″S 70°04′41″W / 22.314°S 70.078°W / -22.314; -70.078 2 Felt at São Paulo, Brazil
Maule, Biobío February 27, 2010 8.8 MW IX 30/35 36°17′24″S 73°14′20″W / 36.290°S 73.239°W / -36.290; -73.239 525 Destructive tsunami
Pichilemu March 11, 2010 6.9 Mw VII 33.1 34°15′32″S 71°55′44″W / 34.259°S 71.929°W / -34.259; -71.929 1 [6][7]
Araucanía January 2, 2011 7.1 Mw VI 25.1 38°21′14″S 73°16′30″W / 38.354°S 73.275°W / -38.354; -73.275 [8]
Talca March 25, 2012 7.0 Mw VII 40.7 35°10′59″S 71°47′31″W / 35.183°S 71.792°W / -35.183; -71.792 1 [9]
Iquique March 16, 2014 7.0 Mw VI 20.6 19°58′52″S 70°42′07″W / 19.981°S 70.702°W / -19.981; -70.702 Tsunami
Iquique April 1, 2014 8.2 Mw VIII 25 19°36′36″S 70°46′08″W / 19.610°S 70.769°W / -19.610; -70.769 7 Tsunami [10]
Iquique April 1, 2014 7.5 Mw VIII 26.8 20°05′06″S 70°23′20″W / 20.085°S 70.389°W / -20.085; -70.389
Iquique April 1, 2014 7.0 Mw VI 29.7 19°53′35″S 70°56′42″W / 19.893°S 70.945°W / -19.893; -70.945
Iquique April 2, 2014 7.7 Mw VIII 22.4 20°34′16″S 70°29′35″W / 20.571°S 70.493°W / -20.571; -70.493 Tsunami
Easter Island October 8, 2014 7.0 Mw I 16.5 32°06′29″S 110°48′40″W / 32.108°S 110.811°W / -32.108; -110.811 Tsunami
Illapel, Coquimbo September 16, 2015 8.3 Mw VIII 20 31°34′S 71°39′W / 31.57°S 71.65°W / -31.57; -71.65 15 Tsunami
Quellón December 25, 2016 7.6 Mw VIII 39 43°24′58″S 73°52′48″W / 43.416°S 73.880°W / -43.416; -73.880 Tsunami [11]
Valparaíso April 24, 2017 6.9 Mw VII 28 33°02′17″S 72°03′43″W / 33.038°S 72.062°W / -33.038; -72.062 Tsunami [12]
Coquimbo January 20, 2019 6.7 Mw VIII 63 30°04′26″S 71°25′23″W / 30.074°S 71.423°W / -30.074; -71.423 2
Los Lagos September 26, 2019 6.1 Mw IV 129 40°48′58″S 72°00′11″W / 40.816°S 72.003°W / -40.816; -72.003 1
Maule September 29, 2019 6.8 Mw VI 11 35°28′23″S 73°09′43″W / 35.473°S 73.162°W / -35.473; -73.162 1
The inclusion criteria for adding events are based on WikiProject Earthquakes' notability guideline that was developed for stand alone articles. The principles described are also applicable to lists. In summary, only damaging, injurious, or deadly events should be recorded.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ L. Guzmán: Encuentran registros de megaterremoto ocurrido hace seis siglos en el norte de Chile, El Mercurio, 2019-02-14.
  2. ^ Manuel Abad, Tatiana Izquierdo, Miguel Cáceres, Enrique Bernárdez and Joaquín Rodríguez‐Vidal (2018). Coastal boulder deposit as evidence of an ocean‐wide prehistoric tsunami originated on the Atacama Desert coast (northern Chile). Sedimentology. Publication: december, 13th, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1111/sed.12570
  3. ^ Kovach, Robert L. (2004). Early earthquakes of the Americas (1. publ., repr. ed.). Cambridge [u.a.]: Cambridge Univ. Press. p. 139. ISBN 978-0-521-82489-7. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  4. ^ : Significant Earthquake, NOAA, 2019-10-03.
  5. ^ a b Argentina's seismic prevention institute. Listado de Terremotos Históricos Archived 2012-03-16 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Informe de Sismo". Sismologia.cl. 2010-03-15. Retrieved 2012-04-12.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ "Hombre fallece en Talca de un paro cardíaco en medio de fuertes réplicas | NACIONAL". latercera.com. 2010-07-31. Archived from the original on 2012-02-26. Retrieved 2012-04-12.
  8. ^ "Magnitude 7.1 - ARAUCANIA, CHILE". Earthquake.usgs.gov. Archived from the original on 2011-01-05. Retrieved 2012-04-12.
  9. ^ USGS, United States Geological Survey (25 March 2012). "Magnitud 7.1 MAULE, CHILE". Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  10. ^ "Chile earthquake: 2 dead, 3 seriously injured". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2 April 2014.
  11. ^ "M7.6 - 39km SSW of Puerto Quellon, Chile". USGS. December 25, 2016. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  12. ^ "M 6.9 - 40km W of Valparaiso, Chile". earthquake.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2017-08-12.

External links[edit]

Map all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap 
Download coordinates as: KML
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