Earthquakes in Bolivia

In Bolivia, there are very strong earthquakes with far-reaching consequences. Earthquakes with a magnitude of over 8.0 destroy numerous houses within a radius of several hundred kilometers and are causing great damage and devastation. Measured against the size of the country, earthquakes occur very rarely.

Since 1950, more than 110 people have been killed by the direct consequences of earthquakes.

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Severe earthquake on March 22nd

At noon on March 22nd, 2023, a devastating earthquake occurred 84 km north-northwest of San Antonio de los Cobres, Argentina at 12:00 local time. The quake had a magnitude of 6.5 points on the Richter scale and occurred at a depth of about 210 kilometers. Such violent earthquakes occur only rarely. It is the strongest earthquake in Bolivia in over 10 months.

Most recent events

This list includes the strongest earthquakes recorded in or around Bolivia by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in the past 14 days. Whether an event is listed here depends largely on its magnitude, but also on its distance from inhabited areas. All data refer to the local time. Due to the current situation, we update this page several times a day. The next update is expected around 15:00 UTC.

March 22, 12:00 pm
Magnitude 6.5: 84 km north-northwest of San Antonio de los Cobres, Argentina at a depth of 209.98 km.
March 22, 11:18 am
Magnitude 5.3: Jujuy, Argentina at a depth of 211.94 km.
March 18, 2:50 am
Magnitude 4.7: 57 km north of Colchani at a depth of 242.13 km.
March 14, 4:55 pm
Magnitude 4.5: 58 km east-northeast of Palca, Peru at a depth of 170.34 km.

Earthquakes in Bolivia since 1950

The strongest earthquake in Bolivia happened on 06/09/1994 in the Arequipa, Felt In N And S America region with a magnitude of 8.2 on the Richter scale. The shifting of tectonic plates in a depth of 16 km resulted in 5 deaths.

Date	Region	Depth	Magnitude	Deaths
05/22/1998	Central (Aiquile, Totora)	50 km	6.6	105
06/09/1994	Arequipa, Felt In N And S America	16 km	8.2	5
06/14/1959	Bolivia-Northern Chile	6 km	7.5	1
11/29/1957	S		7.8	0

These statistics are based on datas from the National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K. Data have been summarized and translated.

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