M6.3 earthquake near Laja, La Paz Department

What happened

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 42 km S of Desaguadero, Peru on 1 Jan 1983, 05:31 UTC at a depth of 172 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Strong. Can cause damage in populated areas up to tens of kilometres away. This was an intermediate-depth earthquake, so shaking is spread over a wider, gentler area.

The nearest town in our records is Laja, about 90 km away in La Paz Department, Bolivia.