M6.1 earthquake near Vallenar, Atacama

What happened

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 48 km SW of Vallenar, Chile on 28 Nov 1959, 12:35 UTC at a depth of 35 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 Vallenar, about 49 km away in Atacama, Chile.