M6.1 earthquake near Ovalle, Coquimbo Region

What happened

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 6 km ENE of Ovalle, Chile on 29 Dec 1972, 04:51 UTC at a depth of 53 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 Ovalle, about 6 km away in Coquimbo Region, Chile.