Earthquake details

Monday, May 21, 1979 Earthquake

The earthquake hit Chile on Monday, May 21, 1979 at 09:34 UTC with a magnitude of 5.1. The closest known location in the current dataset is Copiapó (Chile - CL), about 86.1 km away. The epicenter is located at longitude -71.164 and latitude -27.143.

Magnitude	5.1
Alert	Strong
Depth	33.0 km
Coordinates	-27.143, -71.164
UTC time	1979-05-21 09:34:07.900

Location	Copiapó
Country	Chile (CL)
Severity	Strong

Earthquake map 1979-05-21

Closest countries

The 12 closest cities near the epicenter.

Copiapó	86.1 km
Vallenar	164.4 km
La Serena	307.7 km
Coquimbo	313.3 km
Ovalle	385.0 km
Antofagasta	396.2 km
Chilecito	424.2 km
La Rioja	492.4 km
Chimbas	547.4 km
Catamarca	549.8 km
Aguilares	549.9 km
San Juan	551.6 km

Nearby earthquakes

The latest 8 earthquakes within 100 km of this epicenter.

M 5.1

Copiapó

Chile · 2026-07-22 09:34 UTC

96.3 km

M 4.4

Copiapó

Chile · 2026-06-25 11:13 UTC

79.1 km

M 4.2

Copiapó

Chile · 2026-06-12 04:23 UTC

86.5 km

M 4.4

Copiapó

Chile · 2026-06-11 18:07 UTC

84.0 km

M 5.5

Copiapó

Chile · 2026-06-11 12:22 UTC

88.1 km

M 5.1

Copiapó

Chile · 2026-06-11 12:06 UTC

89.5 km

M 4.1

Copiapó

Chile · 2026-06-11 12:02 UTC

89.2 km

M 4.3

Copiapó

Chile · 2026-06-11 06:05 UTC

91.4 km

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