# List of earthquakes in Colombia

This is a list of earthquakes in Colombia. Colombia is a seismically active country and has a large seismic risk in many areas of its territory due to its location at the boundaries of the Malpelo, Panama, Caribbean, North Andes (where most earthquakes occurred) and South American plates along the Pacific Ring of Fire. The southeastern and extreme eastern portions of Colombia are not as seismically active as the rest of the country.
The first historically registered earthquake felt in Colombia occurred on September 11, 1530, around 10:00 AM, probably with the epicentre near Cumaná, Venezuela. The earthquake was documented by Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés in his work La Historia general de las Indias and by friar Bartolomé de las Casas in his book Historia de Las Indias. The first documented earthquake with its epicentre in present-day Colombia territory took place in 1566, with the epicentre estimated around Santander in the department of Cauca. Other important historical earthquakes have been documented by Luis Vargas Jurado, from 1703 until 1764 and Santiago Pérez Valencia between 1785 and 1843.
The most devastating earthquake for Colombia happened on August 15 and 16, 1868 off the coast of Ecuador, leading to approximately 70,000 fatalities. The strongest earthquake, with an estimated moment magnitude of 8.8 also happened offshore Ecuador in 1906. Other major earthquakes were the 1875 Cúcuta earthquake with around 10,000 deaths and the 1999 Armenia earthquake with an intensity of X. The deepest registered earthquake happened in the department of Amazonas in 1970 at an estimated depth of almost 645 kilometres (2,116,000 ft). The 1785 Viceroyalty of New Granada earthquake sparked the birth of journalism in Colombia, initiated by Manuel del Socorro Rodríguez, six years after the publication of the Aviso del Terremoto about the earthquake with its epicentre in La Calera, Cundinamarca.
The main seismically active zone is the subduction zone of the Malpelo, formerly Nazca, Plate with strong earthquakes in 1906, 1947, 1958 and 1979. The most active onshore fault systems are the 674 kilometres (419 mi) Bucaramanga-Santa Marta Fault with earthquakes frequently occurring at the Bucaramanga Nest around Aratoca, Santander, the 697.4 kilometres (433.3 mi) Romeral Fault System in the Central Ranges (Popayán 1983 and Armenia 1999) and the 921.4 kilometres (572.5 mi) long Eastern Frontal Fault System in the Eastern Ranges. Other strong earthquakes are associated with the Murindó (M$_w$ 7.2, 1992), Irlanda (M$_w$ 6.8, 1994), Tucurá (M$_w$ 6.7, 1952), Bahía Solano (M$_w$ 6.5, 1970), and Mutatá Faults (M$_w$ 6.0, 2016).

## Major historical earthquakes

Note: out of many, only earthquakes of M$_w$ 6.0 and higher, deadly, important historical, and unusual earthquakes are included in this list Magnitudes – M$_w$ Moment magnitude scale, M$_L$ Richter scale, M$_s$ Surface-wave magnitude, ? Unknown scale
| Year | Date | Time UTC−05 | Place bold is fault | Name | Plate | Depth (km) | Fatalities | Mag. | MMI | Tsunami | Notes |
| 1646 | April 3 | 02:00-03:00 | Muzo-La Palma Boyacá Cundinamarca | 1646 Muzo | North Andes | | "dozens" | | IX | No | |
| 1743 | October 18 | | Chingaza Páramo, Cundinamarca | 1743 Chingaza | North Andes | 20 | "several" | 6.30 ± 0.35 B&W97 | IX | No | [6][8] [note 1] |
| 1785 | July 12 | 07:45 | La Calera, Cundinamarca | 1785 Viceroyalty of New Granada | North Andes | 20–30 | 9 | 6.9 M$_s$ | VIII | No | |
| 1827 | November 16 | 22:45 | Timaná, Huila | 1827 Timaná | North Andes | 10 | 250 | 7.7 M$_s$ | X | No | |
| 1834 | January 20 | 12:00 | Sibundoy, Sibundoy, Putumayo | 1834 Sibundoy | North Andes | 5 | 80 | 7.0 ? | IX | No | [6][14] [15] |
| 1868 | August 15 August 16 | 14:30 01:30 | Ecuador, Colombia | 1868 Ecuador | North Andes | 20 | 70,000 | 6.3 and 6.7 M$_s$ | X | No | |
| 1875 | May 18 | 16:25 | Cúcuta | 1875 Cúcuta | North Andes | 20 | 10,000 | 7.5 ? | IX | No | |
| 1906 | January 31 | 15:36 | Esmeraldas (Ecuador) | 1906 Ecuador–Colombia | Malpelo | 20.0 | 1,000~ | 8.8 M$_w$ 8.6 M$_L$ | VIII | Yes 5 m (16 ft) | |
| 1917 | August 31 | 11:36 | Acacías, Meta | 1917 Sumapaz | North Andes | 40 | 6 | 7.3 M$_s$ | VII | No | [6][20] [21] |
| 1936 | January 9 | 09:23 | Túquerres | 1936 Túquerres | North Andes | <30 | 250 | 7.0 ? | VIII | No | |
| 1952 | February 14 | 16:02 | Tucurá, Pavarandocito, Antioquia | 1952 Pavarandocito | North Andes | 44 | | 6.75 M$_w$ | | No | |
| 1958 | January 19 | 14:07 | Ecuador, Colombia | 1958 Ecuador–Colombia | North Andes | 40–60 | 111 | 7.8 M$_w$ 7.6 M$_L$ | VIII | Yes 1.5 m (4.9 ft) | |
| 1962 | July 30 | 15:18 | Aranzazu, Caldas | 1962 Aranzazu | North Andes | 69 | 50~ | 6.8 M$_w$ | VIII | No | |
| 1967 | February 9 | 15:24 | Algeciras, Algeciras, Huila | 1967 Neiva | North Andes | 55.0 | 98 | 7.2 M$_w$ 6.8 M$_L$ | VIII | No | [29][30] [31] |
| 1967 | July 29 | 05:24 | Bucaramanga, Aratoca, Santander | 1967 Aratoca | North Andes | 161.2 | | 6.8 M$_w$ | IV | No | |
| 1970 | July 31 | 17:08 | Amazonas | 1970 Colombia | South American | 644.8 | 1 | 8.0 M$_w$ 7.7 M$_L$ | IV | No | |
| 1970 | September 26 | 22:38 | Bahía Solano, Bahía Solano, Chocó | 1970 Bahía Solano | North Andes | 15.0 | | 6.5 M$_w$ | VII | | |
| 1975 | January 24 | 21:08 | Chocó | 1975 Chocó | Panama | 36.0 | | 6.5 M$_s$ | VII | | |
| 1979 | November 23 | 18:40 | El Cairo | 1979 El Cairo | North Andes | 108.0 | 44 | 7.2 M$_w$ 6.7 M$_L$ | VII | No | |
| 1979 | December 12 | 07:59 | Tumaco | 1979 Tumaco | North Andes | 33 | 600 | 8.1 M$_s$ | IX | Yes 5 m (16 ft) | |
| 1983 | March 31 | 08:15 | Rosas-Julumito, Popayán | 1983 Popayán | North Andes | 12.0 | 300 | 5.5 M$_L$ | VIII | No | |
| 1987 | March 5 March 6 | 20:54, 23:10 03:14 | Ecuador, Colombia | 1987 Ecuador-Colombia | North Andes | 8.5 14.1 | 1,000 4,000+ missing | 6.0-7.2 M$_w$ | VII | No | [41][42] [43] |
| 1991 | November 19 | 17:28 | Chocó | 1991 Chocó | North Andes | 21.3 | | 7.2 M$_w$ | IX | | |
| 1992 | October 18 | 10:11 | Murindó, Murindó, Antioquia | 1992 Murindó | North Andes | 10.0 | | 7.2 M$_w$ | VIII | No | |
| 1994 | June 6 | 20:47 | Irlanda, Páez | 1994 Páez River | North Andes | 12 | 1,100 | 6.8 M$_w$ | VII | No | |
| 1995 | January 19 | 10:05 | Guaicáramo, Tauramena | 1995 Tauramena | North Andes | 17.3 | 6 | 6.0 M$_L$ 6.5 M$_w$ | VII | No | |
| 1995 | February 8 | 13:40 | Cali | 1995 Cali | North Andes | 73.5 | 35 | 6.4 M$_w$ | V | No | |
| 1996 | November 4 | 12:24 | Chocó | 1996 Colombia-Panama | Panama | 14.0 | | 6.3 M$_w$ | VIII | No | |
| 1999 | January 25 | 18:19 | Córdoba-Navarco, Armenia | 1999 Armenia | North Andes | 17.0 | 1,900 | 6.1 M$_w$ | X | No | |
| 2004 | November 15 | 04:06 | Bajo Baudó, Pacific Ocean, Chocó | 2004 Bajo Baudó | North Andes | 15.0 | 0 | 6.7 M$_L$ 7.2 M$_w$ | VIII | | |
| 2007 | September 9 | 20:49 | Gorgona Island | 2007 Gorgona Island | North Andes | 15.0 | 5 injured / 34 homes damaged | 6.8 M$_w$ | VII | | |
| 2008 | May 24 | 19:20 | El Calvario | 2008 El Calvario | North Andes | 35 | 11 | 5.9 M$_w$ | VII | No | |
| 2012 | September 30 | 11:31 | La Vega | 2012 La Vega | North Andes | 170 | 0 | 7.3 M$_w$ | VII | No | |
| 2013 | February 9 | 09:16 | Yacuanquer, Nariño | 2013 Nariño | North Andes | 145 | 0 | 6.9 M$_w$ | VI | No | |
| 2013 | August 13 | 10:43 | Chocó | 2013 Chocó | Coiba | 12.0 | 0 | 6.7 M$_w$ | V | | |
| 2015 | March 10 | 15:55 | Bucaramanga, Aratoca, Santander | 2015 Santander | North Andes | 155 | 0 | 6.2 M$_w$ | VI | No | |
| 2016 | April 16 | 18:58 | Ecuador, Colombia | 2016 Ecuador-Colombia | North Andes | 20.6 | 676 | 7.8 M$_w$ | IX | No | |
| 2016 | September 13 | 20:58 | Mutatá, Mutatá, Antioquia | 2016 Mutatá | North Andes | 18.0 | 0 | 6.0 M$_w$ | VI | No | |
| 2018 | June 12 | 04:35 | Pasto, Nariño | 2018 Pasto | North Andes | 10.0 | 2 | 4.9 M$_w$ | VI | No | |
| 2021 | March 1 | 17:57 | Antioquia Department | 2021 Antioquia | North Andes | 10.0 | 3 | 5.1 M$_w$ | VI | No | |
| 2023 | August 17 | 12:04 | Meta Department | 2023 Central Colombia | North Andes | 10.0 | 2 | 6.1 M$_w$ | VII | No | |