M6.3 earthquake near Caldera, Atacama

What happened

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 51 km WSW of Diego de Almagro, Chile on 3 Aug 1978, 18:11 UTC at a depth of 58 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 67 km away in Atacama, Chile.