Copiapó

Earthquakes near Copiapó through history

From 1900 to October 19, 2026, USGS recorded 27 earthquakes of magnitude 6 or more within 100 km of Copiapó, or 200 km for magnitude 7 and above. 7 of them reached magnitude 7 or more; the strongest was a magnitude 8.5, twice: on April 12, 1819 (Copiapo) and on November 11, 1922 (94 km ENE of Vallenar, Chile).

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The last 30 days · as of

USGS recorded no earthquake of magnitude 4.5 or more within 100 km of Copiapó in the last 30 days.

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What the record holds

The one on November 11, 1922 was the deadliest: NOAA records 700 deaths for it. NOAA’s list of significant earthquakes has 19 here, back to 1796. NOAA records deaths in 4 of the events here, 717 in all. The latest on NOAA’s list is a magnitude 6.7 on April 18, 2002 (31 km SW of Copiapó, Chile). NOAA’s record here begins on March 30, 1796 with an earthquake (Copiapo, Vallenar, Huasco, Coquimbo). 13 of the 19 significant earthquakes NOAA lists here came before 1927. NOAA lists 5 tsunamis that began within 100 km of Copiapó, and 8 from elsewhere that reached it with deaths or a metre of water or more. The highest water NOAA records here was 6 m, on October 5, 1859. The deadliest here came on November 11, 1922 from a magnitude 8.5 earthquake (Northern Chile): NOAA’s runup records count 20 deaths within 100 km of Copiapó.

The events

  • April 18, 2002Earthquake · M 6.731 km SW of Copiapó, ChileUSGS · NOAA NCEI
  • November 11, 1922Earthquake · M 8.594 km ENE of Vallenar, Chile · 700 deaths (NOAA)USGS · NOAA NCEI · Wikipedia
  • November 11, 1922Tsunami · 5.5 m hereNorthern Chile · 20 deaths here (NOAA)NOAA NCEI · Wikipedia
  • October 5, 1859Tsunami · 6 m hereNorthern ChileNOAA NCEI
  • April 12, 1819Earthquake · M 8.5 (est.)CopiapoNOAA NCEI
  • March 30, 1796Earthquake · M 7.7 (est.)Copiapo, Vallenar, Huasco, CoquimboNOAA NCEI

Good to know

  • An event counts for Copiapó when it began within 100 km of its centre, or 200 km for an earthquake of magnitude 7 or more. Damage can reach further.
  • USGS counts here start at magnitude 6: the catalogue’s smaller quakes thin out going back, where few instruments listened.
  • NOAA lists significant events only: earthquakes that killed, did about $1 million of damage, reached magnitude 7.5 or intensity X, or raised a tsunami, and eruptions and tsunamis by like measures. Magnitudes before 1900 are its estimates from written accounts.
  • Deaths are NOAA’s total for each event, wherever people died, its tsunami and fires included. A tsunami counts the dead its runup records give for this place: NOAA’s total for a tsunami includes its source quake’s.
  • A tsunami from elsewhere counts where one of its runups killed or rose a metre or more.
  • Counted to October 19, 2026, as is the map. The last 30 days ask USGS again.

How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Earthquakes, live, The world through history

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