M6.3 earthquake near Caldera, Atacama

What happened

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 83 km NW of Copiapó, Chile on 7 Aug 1973, 14:22 UTC at a depth of 14 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 28 km away in Atacama, Chile.