M6.3 earthquake near Caldera, Atacama

What happened

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 120 km WNW of Copiapó, Chile on 31 Jul 1973, 10:51 UTC at a depth of 33 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Strong. Can cause damage in populated areas up to tens of kilometres away. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Caldera, about 69 km away in Atacama, Chile.