Earthquakes in Argentina, 1927–2026
From 1927 to October 19, 2026, USGS recorded 107 earthquakes of magnitude 6 or more in or off Argentina. 9 of them reached magnitude 7 or more; the strongest was a magnitude 7.4, twice: on April 14, 1927 (Mendoza; Chile) and on November 23, 1977 (San Juan, Argentina).
The last 30 days · as of
USGS recorded 7 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or more in the area the map frames in the last 30 days.
The latest: magnitude 4.5 on October 23 (102 km W of San Antonio de los Cobres, Argentina). The strongest: magnitude 5.2 on September 25 (69 km SW of San Antonio, Chile).
What the record holds
The deadliest was not the strongest: a magnitude 6.9 on January 15, 1944 (4 km ESE of Chimbas, Argentina), for which NOAA records 10,000 deaths. 20 earthquakes here in these years are on NOAA’s list of significant earthquakes. NOAA records deaths in 11 of the events here, 10,147 in all. The latest on NOAA’s list is a magnitude 6.4 on January 19, 2021 (26 km SW of Pocito, Argentina). NOAA lists 5 tsunamis that began in or off Argentina, and one from elsewhere that reached it with deaths or a metre of water or more. The highest water NOAA records here was 5 m, on May 22, 1960. The deadliest here came on May 22, 1960 from a magnitude 9.5 earthquake (Southern Chile): NOAA’s runup records count 3 deaths in Argentina.
The events
- January 19, 2021Earthquake · M 6.426 km SW of Pocito, ArgentinaUSGS · NOAA NCEI
- May 12, 2000Earthquake · M 7.275 km N of San Antonio de los Cobres, ArgentinaUSGS
- June 23, 1991Earthquake · M 7.327 km NNW of El Hoyo, ArgentinaUSGS
- November 23, 1977Earthquake · M 7.4San Juan, Argentina · 65 deaths (NOAA)USGS · NOAA NCEI · Wikipedia
- December 8, 1962Earthquake · M 7.221 km SSE of Taco Pozo, ArgentinaUSGS
- May 22, 1960Tsunami · 5 m hereSouthern Chile · 3 deaths here (NOAA)NOAA NCEI · Wikipedia
- January 15, 1944Earthquake · M 6.94 km ESE of Chimbas, Argentina · 10,000 deaths (NOAA)USGS · NOAA NCEI · Wikipedia
- May 30, 1929Earthquake · M 6.764 km ESE of San Rafael, Argentina · 31 deaths (NOAA)USGS · NOAA NCEI
- April 14, 1927Earthquake · M 7.4Mendoza; ChileNOAA NCEI · Wikipedia
Good to know
- An event counts for Argentina when it began inside its borders, or at sea within 100 km of its coast (so one can count for two neighbours), or further out, up to 300 km, where Argentina is the nearest country.
- 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.
- The map frames the box around Argentina, its neighbours’ quakes included, so its count runs higher than this page’s.
- 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