M6.0 earthquake near Otavalo, Imbabura

What happened

A magnitude 6 earthquake struck 14 km W of Cotacachi, Ecuador on 20 Jul 1955, 21:00 UTC at a depth of 15 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 Otavalo, about 17 km away in Imbabura, Ecuador.