Magnitude 6.2 Earthquake in the Coquimbo Region of Chile.

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.

The location of the 12 February 2026 Coquimbo Earthquake. USGS.

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.

The subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American Plate, and how it causes Earthquakes and volcanoes. Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center.

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Magnitude 5.6 Earthquake in Limari Province, central Chile.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 5.6 Earthquake at a depth of 53.9 km, roughly 44 km to the southwest of the city of Ovalle in Limari Province in central Chile, slightly after 11.10 pm local time on Friday 20 November 2020 (slightly after 2.10 am on Saturday 21 November GMT. There are no reports of any injuries associated with this event, but people felt it in the area to the north of the Quake.

 

The location of the 20 November 2020 Limari Province Earthquake. USGS.

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.

 

The subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American Plate, and how it causes Earthquakes and volcanoes. Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center.

 

Witness accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events, and the structures that cause them. The international non-profit organisation Earthquake Report is interested in hearing from people who may have felt this event; if you felt this quake then you can report it to Earthquake Report here.

 

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Magnitude 4.8 Earthquake on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 4.8 Earthquake at a depth of 16.5 km,  on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, roughly 31 km to the southeast of the city of Puerto Limón, slightly before 11.00 pm on Tuesday 17 September 2019 local time (slightly 5.00 am on Wednesday 18 September GMT). There are no reports of any damage or casualties associated with this event, but it was felt across much of Costa Rica and western Panama.

The approximate location of the 17 September 2019 Costa Rica Earthquake. USGS.

Costa Rica lies on the southern margin of the Caribbean Plate; to the south of the country the Cocos Plate, which underlies part of the eastern Pacific Ocean) is being subducted under the Middle American Trench, passing under Central America as it sinks into the Earth's interior. This is not a smooth process, and the plates often stick together until the pressure builds up enough to force them to shift suddenly, causing Earthquakes. As the Cocos Plate sinks deeper if is partially melted by the friction and the heat of the Earth's interior. Some of the melted material then rises up through the overlying Caribbean Plate, fuelling the volcanoes of Central America.

 

Diagram showing the passage of the Cocos Plate beneath Costa Rica (not to scale). Carleton College.

 

Witness accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events, and the structures that cause them. The international non-profit organisation Earthquake Report is interested in hearing from people who may have felt this event; if you felt this quake then you can report it to Earthquake Report here.

 

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Magnitude 6.8 Earthquake in central Chile.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 6.8 Earthquake at a depth of 14 km in western Limari Province in central Chile slightly after 4.30 am local time (slightly after 7.30 am GMT) on Friday 7 November 2015. There are no reports of any damage or injuries associated with this event, but people have reported feeling it as far away as Santiago, 300 km to the South, and some areas did suffer temporary power outages following the event.

The approximate location of the 7 November 2015 Limari Province Earthquake. Google Maps.

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, fueling the volcanoes of the Chilean Andes.

 

 The subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American Plate, and how it causes Earthquakes and volcanoes. Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center.

 

Witness accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events, and the structures that cause them. The international non-profit organization Earthquake Report is interested in hearing from people who may have felt this event; if you felt this quake then you can report it to Earthquake Report here.

 

See also...

 

Eruption on Mount Lascar, northern Chile. The Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería reported a small eruption on Mount Lascar, an active volcano in the northern Chilean Andes in the Antofagasta Region of Chile, occurring slightly after 9.30 am on Friday 30 October 2015. The eruption produced a plume which rose about 2.5 km above the summit...

Eruption on Mount Copahue.

The Buenos Aires Volcanic Ash Advisory Center reported plume over Mount Copahue, an active volcano on the border between Chile and Argentina roughly 500 km to the south of the Chilean capitol Santiago, on Sunday 11 October 2015. The plume rose 6.1-7.6 km over the volcano, and drifted to...

 

Fourteen confirmed deaths after Magnitude 8.3 Earthquake off the coast of Chile.

Fourteen people have now been confirmed dead following an Earthquake off the west coast of Chile on Wednesday 16 September 2015. The event...

 

 

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