| Magnitude | 7.6 |
| Alert | Extreme |
| Depth | 25.0 km |
| Coordinates | 9.990, -84.412 |
| UTC time | 1939-12-21 20:54:52.930 |
Earthquake details
Thursday, December 21, 1939 Earthquake
The earthquake hit Costa Rica on Thursday, December 21, 1939 at 20:54 UTC with a magnitude of 7.6. The closest known location in the current dataset is Alajuela (Costa Rica - CR), about 22.2 km away. The epicenter is located at longitude -84.412 and latitude 9.990.
| Location | Alajuela |
| Country | Costa Rica (CR) |
| Severity | Extreme |
Earthquake map 1939-12-21
Closest countries
The 12 closest cities near the epicenter.
| Alajuela | 22.2 km |
| San José | 36.6 km |
| San Vicente | 39.9 km |
| San Vicente de Moravia | 39.9 km |
| Purral | 41.8 km |
| Curridabat | 42.1 km |
| Puntarenas | 46.7 km |
| Paraíso | 62.1 km |
| Turrialba | 80.4 km |
| San Isidro de El General | 104.7 km |
| San José | 133.2 km |
| Liberia | 133.3 km |
Nearby earthquakes
The latest 8 earthquakes within 100 km of this epicenter.
|
M 4.0
San José
Costa Rica · 2026-01-19 23:06 UTC
|
34.2 km |
|
M 4.5
San José
Costa Rica · 2025-11-21 19:47 UTC
|
85.1 km |
|
M 5.9
San José
Costa Rica · 2025-10-22 03:57 UTC
|
84.2 km |
|
M 4.7
Alajuela
Costa Rica · 2025-10-04 21:08 UTC
|
83.8 km |
|
M 4.8
Alajuela
Costa Rica · 2025-08-01 19:33 UTC
|
41.2 km |
|
M 4.0
San José
Costa Rica · 2025-07-18 10:34 UTC
|
59.1 km |
|
M 4.7
San José
Costa Rica · 2025-07-06 19:59 UTC
|
39.3 km |
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