M6.1 earthquake near Caldera, Atacama

What happened

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 62 km W of Copiapó, Chile on 28 Apr 1979, 11:38 UTC at a depth of 23 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 46 km away in Atacama, Chile.