The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 6.2 Earthquake at a depth of 36.9 km, roughly 32 km to the southwest of the city of Ovale in Limari Province, part of the Atacama Coquimbo of Chile, slightly before 10.35 am local time (slightly before 1.35 pm GMT) on Thursday 12 February 2026. There are no reports of any damage or injuries associated with this event, but people have reported feeling it as far away as Santiago, 400 km to the south.
Chile is located on the west coast of South America, which is also the convergent margin between the Nazca and South American Plates. The Nazca Plate is being subducted beneath the South American Plate and is sinking beneath the South American Plate. This is not a smooth process, the rocks of the two plates continuously stick together then, as the pressure builds up, break apart again, causing Earthquakes. As the Nazca Plate sinks deeper it is partially melted by the heat of the Earth's interior. Some of the melted material then rises up through the overlying South American Plate as magma, fuelling the volcanoes of the Chilean Andes.
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