EARTHQUAKEM4.5

M4.5 earthquake near Abra Pampa, Argentina

Map: the earthquake near Abra Pampa, Argentina, with plate boundaries

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 86 km (53 mi) west-northwest of Abra Pampa, Argentina on Sunday, November 1, 2026 at 23:18 UTC, at a depth of 244 km (151 mi), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. At this intermediate depth, shaking spreads out before it reaches the surface. The nearest city of a million or more people is Cochabamba, about 575 km (357 mi) away.

MagnitudeM4.5
Depth244 km (151 mi)
Time (UTC)Nov 1 23:18
Location22.57°S 66.52°W
Nearest townAbra Pampa · 86 km
Energy85 tons TNT
Tsunami flagNo
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Why here?

This earthquake struck 244 km (151 mi) down, about 495 km (308 mi) from the nearest plate boundary on the surface. Quakes this deep happen inside old ocean plate that has sunk far into the mantle at a subduction zone, long after it dove beneath its neighbor. Their great depth spreads the shaking over a wide area but usually keeps it gentle at the surface.

The red lines on the map are plate boundaries.

How strong was it?

Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step releases about 32 times more energy. This magnitude 4.5 released roughly the energy of 85 tons of TNT. That is about 5.6 times the energy of a magnitude 4.0, a quake people nearby feel but that rarely causes damage. The strongest earthquake ever recorded, magnitude 9.5 in Chile in 1960, released about 32,000,000 times more than this one.

Earthquake history here

Before this earthquake, USGS had recorded 67 earthquakes of magnitude 6 or larger within 300 km (186 mi) since 1900. The strongest:

Official details, updates and the shaking map: USGS event page.

See every earthquake on November 1, 2026 or earthquakes by day.

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