List of earthquakes in Colombia explained

This is a list of earthquakes in Colombia. Colombia is a seismically active country and has a large seismic risk in many areas of its territory due to its location at the boundaries of the Malpelo, Panama, Caribbean, North Andes (where most earthquakes occurred) and South American Plates along the Pacific Ring of Fire. The southeastern and extreme eastern portions of Colombia are not as seismically active as the rest of the country.

The first historically registered earthquake felt in Colombia occurred on September 11, 1530, around 10:00 AM, probably with the epicentre near Cumaná, Venezuela. The earthquake was documented by Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés in his work La Historia general de las Indias and by friar Bartolomé de las Casas in his book Historia de Las Indias.[1] The first documented earthquake with its epicentre in present-day Colombia territory took place in 1566,[2] with the epicentre estimated around Santander in the department of Cauca.[3] Other important historical earthquakes have been documented by Luis Vargas Jurado, from 1703 until 1764 and Santiago Pérez Valencia between 1785 and 1843.[4]

The most devastating earthquake for Colombia happened on August 15 and 16, 1868 off the coast of Ecuador, leading to approximately 70,000 fatalities. The strongest earthquake, with an estimated moment magnitude of 8.8 also happened offshore Ecuador in 1906. Other major earthquakes were the 1875 Cúcuta earthquake with around 10,000 deaths and the 1999 Armenia earthquake with an intensity of X. The deepest registered earthquake happened in the department of Amazonas in 1970 at an estimated depth of almost 645km (401miles). The 1785 Viceroyalty of New Granada earthquake sparked the birth of journalism in Colombia, initiated by Manuel del Socorro Rodríguez, six years after the publication of the Aviso del Terremoto about the earthquake with its epicentre in La Calera, Cundinamarca.

The main seismically active zone is the subduction zone of the Malpelo, formerly Nazca, Plate with strong earthquakes in 1906, 1947, 1958 and 1979. The most active onshore fault systems are the 674km (419miles) Bucaramanga-Santa Marta Fault with earthquakes frequently occurring at the Bucaramanga Nest around Aratoca, Santander, the 697.4km (433.3miles) Romeral Fault System in the Central Ranges (Popayán 1983 and Armenia 1999) and the 921.4km (572.5miles) long Eastern Frontal Fault System in the Eastern Ranges. Other strong earthquakes are associated with the Murindó (Mw 7.2, 1992), Irlanda (Mw 6.8, 1994), Tucurá (Mw 6.7, 1952), Bahía Solano (Mw 6.5, 1970), and Mutatá Faults (Mw 6.0, 2016).

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Major historical earthquakes

Note: out of many,[3] only earthquakes of Mw 6.0 and higher, deadly, important historical,[5] and unusual earthquakes are included in this list
Magnitudes - Mw Moment magnitude scale, ML Richter magnitude scale, Ms Surface wave magnitude, ? Unknown scale

YearDateTime
Place
NamePlateDepth
Fatalities-->-->MMITsunamiMapNotes
1646April 302:00-03:00Muzo-La Palma
Boyacá
Cundinamarca		1646 MuzoNorth Andesalign=center "dozens"IXNoalign=center [6] [7]
1743October 18Chingaza Páramo, Cundinamarca1743 ChingazaNorth Andesalign=center 20"several"6.30 ± 0.35 B&W97IXNoalign=center [8]
1785July 1207:45La Calera, Cundinamarca1785 Viceroyalty of New Granada North Andesalign=center 20–3096.9 MsVIIINoalign=center [9] [10]
1827November 1622:45Timaná, Huila1827 TimanáNorth Andesalign=center 102507.7 MsXNoalign=center [11] [12]
1834January 2012:00Sibundoy, Sibundoy, Putumayo1834 SibundoyNorth Andesalign=center 5807.0 ?IXNoalign=center [13]
[14]
1868August 15
August 16		14:30
01:30		Ecuador, Colombia1868 EcuadorNorth Andesalign=center 2070,0006.3 and 6.7 MsXNoalign=center [15]
1875May 1816:25Cúcuta1875 CúcutaNorth Andesalign=center 2010,0007.5 ?IXNoalign=center [16]
1906January 3115:36Esmeraldas (Ecuador)1906 Ecuador–ColombiaMalpeloalign=center 20.01,000~8.8 Mw 8.6 MLVIIIYes
5m (16feet)		align=center [17] [18]
1917August 3111:36Acacías, Meta1917 SumapazNorth Andesalign=center 4067.3 MsVIINoalign=center [19]
[20]
1936January 909:23Túquerres1936 TúquerresNorth Andesalign=center <302507.0 ?VIIINoalign=center [21] [22]
1952February 1416:02Tucurá, Pavarandocito, Antioquia1952 PavarandocitoNorth Andesalign=center 446.75 MwNoalign=center [23] [24]
1958January 1914:07Ecuador, Colombia1958 Ecuador–ColombiaNorth Andesalign=center 40–601117.8 Mw 7.6 MLVIIIYes
1.5m (04.9feet)		align=center [25]
1962July 3015:18Aranzazu, Caldas1962 AranzazuNorth Andesalign=center 6950~6.8 MwVIIINoalign=center [26] [27]
1967February 915:24Algeciras, Algeciras, Huila1967 NeivaNorth Andesalign=center 55.0987.2 Mw 6.8 ML VIIINoalign=center [28] [29]
[30]
1967July 2905:24Bucaramanga, Aratoca, Santander1967 AratocaNorth Andesalign=center 161.26.8 Mw IVNoalign=center [31]
1970July 3117:08Amazonas1970 ColombiaSouth Americanalign=center 644.818.0 Mw 7.7 MLIVNoalign=center [32]
1970September 2622:38Bahía Solano, Bahía Solano, Chocó1970 Bahía SolanoNorth Andesalign=center 15.06.5 MwVIIalign=center [33] [34]
1975January 2421:08Chocó1975 ChocóPanamaalign=center 36.06.5 MsVIIalign=center [35]
1979November 2318:40El Cairo1979 El CairoNorth Andesalign=center 108.0447.2 Mw 6.7 MLVIINoalign=center [36]
1979December 1207:59Tumaco1979 TumacoNorth Andesalign=center 336008.1 MsIXYes
5m (16feet)		align=center [37]
1983March 3108:15Rosas-Julumito, Popayán1983 PopayánNorth Andesalign=center 12.03005.5 MLVIIINoalign=center [38] [39]
1987March 5
March 6		20:54, 23:10
03:14		Ecuador, Colombia1987 Ecuador-ColombiaNorth Andesalign=center 8.5
14.1		1,000
4,000+ missing		6.0-7.2 MwVIINoalign=center [40] [41]
[42]
1991November 1917:28Chocó1991 ChocóNorth Andesalign=center 21.37.2 MwIXalign=center [43]
1992October 1810:11Murindó, Murindó, Antioquia1992 MurindóNorth Andesalign=center 10.07.2 MwVIIINoalign=center [44] [45]
1994June 620:47Irlanda, Páez1994 Páez RiverNorth Andesalign=center 121,1006.8 MwVIINoalign=center [46] [47]
1995January 1910:05Guaicáramo, Tauramena1995 TauramenaNorth Andesalign=center 17.366.0 ML 6.5 MwVIINoalign=center [48] [49]
1995February 813:40CaliNorth Andesalign=center 73.5356.4 MwVNoalign=center [50]
1996November 412:24Chocó1996 Colombia-PanamaPanamaalign=center 14.06.3 MwVIIINoalign=center [51]
1999January 2518:19Córdoba-Navarco, Armenia1999 ArmeniaNorth Andesalign=center 17.01,9006.1 MwXNoalign=center [52] [53]
2004November 1504:06Bajo Baudó, Pacific Ocean, Chocó2004 Bajo BaudóNorth Andesalign=center 15.006.7 ML 7.2 MwVIIIalign=center [54]
2007September 920:49Gorgona Island2007 Gorgona IslandNorth Andesalign=center 15.05 injured / 34 homes damaged6.8 MwVIIalign=center [55]
2008May 2419:20El Calvario2008 El CalvarioNorth Andesalign=center 35115.9 MwVIINoalign=center [56]
2012September 3011:31La Vega2012 La VegaNorth Andesalign=center 17007.3 MwVIINoalign=center [57]
2013February 909:16Yacuanquer, Nariño2013 Nariño North Andesalign=center 14506.9 MwVINoalign=center [58] [59]
2013August 1310:43Chocó2013 ChocóCoibaalign=center 12.006.7 MwValign=center [60]
2015March 1015:55Bucaramanga, Aratoca, Santander2015 SantanderNorth Andesalign=center 15506.2 MwVINoalign=center [61] [62]
2016April 1618:58Ecuador, Colombia2016 Ecuador-ColombiaNorth Andesalign=center 20.66767.8 MwIXNoalign=center [63]
2016September 1320:58Mutatá, Mutatá, Antioquia2016 MutatáNorth Andesalign=center 18.006.0 MwVINoalign=center [64]
2018June 1204:35Pasto, Nariño2018 PastoNorth Andesalign=center 10.0align=right 2align=right 4.9 MwVINoalign=center [65] [66]
2021March 117:57Antioquia Department2021 AntioquiaNorth Andesalign=center 10.0align=right 3align=right 5.1 MwVINoalign=center [67]
2023August 1712:04 Meta Department2023 Central ColombiaNorth Andesalign=center 10.0align=right 2align=right 6.1 MwVIINo

See also

Notes and references

References

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Ramírez, 1975, p.63
  2. Ramírez, 1975, p.65
  3. Ramírez, 1975, p.217
  4. Espinosa Baquero, 2001, p.273
  5. Various Authors, 2014, p.7
  6. Various Authors, 2014, p.8
  7. Espinosa Baquero, 1999, p.211
  8. Salcedo & Gómez, 2013
  9. Gómez Capera et al., 2014, p.214
  10. Sarabia Gómez et al., 2010a, p.154
  11. Various Authors, 2008a, p.30
  12. Web site: Comments for the 1827 Earthquake . NGDC . . 2017-09-18.
  13. Paris et al., 2000, p.46
  14. Web site: Comments for the 1834 Earthquake . NGDC . . 2017-09-18.
  15. Giesecke et al., 2004
  16. Web site: Comments for the 1875 Earthquake . NGDC . . 2017-09-18.
  17. Mendoza & Dewey, 1984
  18. Web site: M 8.8 - near the coast of Ecuador . USGS . . 2017-09-18.
  19. Sarabia Gómez et al., 2010a, p.160
  20. Web site: Comments for the 1917 Earthquake . NGDC . . 2017-09-18.
  21. Sarabia Gómez et al., 2010b
  22. Web site: Comments for the 1936 Earthquake . NGDC . . 2017-09-18.
  23. Ramírez, 1975, p.223
  24. Paris et al., 2000, p.13
  25. Web site: Comments for the 1958 Earthquake . NGDC . . 2017-09-18.
  26. Various Authors, 2014, p.9
  27. Various Authors, 2008b, pp.83–94
  28. Web site: Comments for the 1967 Earthquake . NGDC . . 2017-09-18.
  29. Web site: M 7.0 - Colombia . USGS . . 2017-09-18.
  30. Paris et al., 2000, p.43
  31. Web site: M 6.8 - northern Colombia . USGS . . 2017-09-18.
  32. Web site: M 8.0 - Colombia . USGS . . 2017-09-18.
  33. Paris et al., 2000, p.16
  34. Web site: M 6.5 - near the west coast of Colombia . USGS . . 2017-09-18.
  35. Web site: M 6.5 - Panama-Colombia border region . USGS . . 2017-09-18.
  36. Web site: M 6.4 - Colombia . USGS . . 2017-09-18.
  37. Web site: Comments for the 1979 Earthquake . NGDC . . 2017-09-18.
  38. Marín Arias et al., 2006, p.94
  39. Paris et al., 2000, p.24
  40. Web site: M 6.4 - Colombia-Ecuador border region . USGS . . 2017-09-18.
  41. Web site: M 7.2 - Colombia-Ecuador border region . USGS . . 2017-09-18.
  42. Web site: M 6.0 - Colombia-Ecuador border region . USGS . . 2017-09-18.
  43. Web site: M 7.2 - near the west coast of Colombia . USGS . . 2017-09-18.
  44. Paris et al., 2000, p.15
  45. Web site: M 7.2 - northern Colombia . USGS . . 2017-09-18.
  46. Paris et al., 2000, p.58
  47. Web site: Comments for the 1994 Earthquake . NGDC . . 2017-09-18.
  48. Web site: M 6.5 - Colombia . USGS . . 2017-09-18.
  49. Paris et al., 2000, p.38
  50. Web site: M 6.4 - Colombia . USGS . . 2017-09-18.
  51. Web site: M 6.3 - Panama-Colombia border region . USGS . . 2017-09-18.
  52. Web site: M 6.1 - Colombia . USGS . . 2017-09-18.
  53. Paris et al., 2000, p.25
  54. Web site: M 7.2 - near the west coast of Colombia . USGS . . 2017-09-18.
  55. Web site: M 6.8 - near the west coast of Colombia . USGS . . 2017-09-18.
  56. Web site: Comments for the 2008 Earthquake . NGDC . . 2017-09-18.
  57. Web site: M 7.3 - Colombia . USGS . . 2017-09-18.
  58. Web site: M 7.0 - Colombia - 2013-02-09 14:16:07 UTC . EMSC . . 2017-09-18.
  59. Web site: M 6.9 - 2km N of Yacuanquer, Colombia . USGS . . 2017-09-18.
  60. Web site: M 6.7 - 101km WSW of Mutis, Colombia . USGS . . 2017-09-18.
  61. Web site: M 6.2 - Northern Colombia - 2015-03-10 20:55:46 UTC . EMSC . . 2017-09-18.
  62. Web site: M 6.2 - 9km NNE of Aratoca, Colombia . USGS . . 2017-09-18.
  63. Web site: M 7.8 - 27km SSE of Muisne, Ecuador . USGS . . 2017-09-18.
  64. Web site: M 6.0 - 32km ENE of Mutata, Colombia . USGS . . 2017-09-18.
  65. Web site: M 4.9 - 16km ESE of Tangua, Colombia . USGS . . 2018-06-12.
  66. Web site: Tres sismos en Pasto deja dos muertos y varios heridos . 90minutos.co . es-CO . 2018-06-12. 2018-06-12 .
  67. Web site: M 5.1 - 20 km SW of Urrao, Colombia. March 2, 2021. earthquake.usgs.gov.

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