Seismic risk map of Colombia Aviso del Terremoto , 1785The subduction of the Malpelo plate (left) below the North Andes plate (right) causes most of the earthquakes in Colombia. This is alist 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 theMalpelo ,Panama ,Caribbean ,North Andes (where most earthquakes occurred) andSouth American plates along the PacificRing 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 theepicentre nearCumaná ,Venezuela . The earthquake was documented byGonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés in his workLa Historia general de las Indias and byfriar Bartolomé de las Casas in his bookHistoria de Las Indias .[ 1] The first documented earthquake with its epicentre in present-day Colombia territory took place in 1566,[ 2] with the epicentre estimated aroundSantander in thedepartment ofCauca .[ 3] Other important historical earthquakes have been documented by Luis Vargas Jurado, from 1703 until 1764 and Santiago Pérez Valencia between 1785 and 1843.[ 4]
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 estimatedmoment magnitude of 8.8 also happened offshore Ecuador in 1906. Other major earthquakes were the1875 Cúcuta earthquake with around 10,000 deaths and the1999 Armenia earthquake with anintensity of X . The deepest registered earthquake happened in the department ofAmazonas in 1970 at an estimated depth of almost 645 kilometres (2,116,000 ft). The1785 Viceroyalty of New Granada earthquake sparked the birth of journalism in Colombia, initiated byManuel del Socorro Rodríguez , six years after the publication of theAviso del Terremoto about the earthquake with its epicentre inLa 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 theBucaramanga Nest aroundAratoca ,Santander , the 697.4 kilometres (433.3 mi)Romeral Fault System in theCentral Ranges (Popayán 1983 and Armenia 1999) and the 921.4 kilometres (572.5 mi) longEastern Frontal Fault System in theEastern Ranges . Other strong earthquakes are associated with theMurindó (Mw 7.2, 1992),Irlanda (Mw 6.8, 1994),Tucurá (Mw 6.7, 1952),Bahía Solano (Mw 6.5, 1970), andMutatá Faults (Mw 6.0, 2016).
Major historical earthquakes [ edit ] Note: out of many,[ 3] only earthquakes of Mw 6.0 and higher, deadly, important historical,[ 5] and unusual earthquakes are included in this list Magnitudes – Mw Moment magnitude scale , ML Richter scale , Ms Surface-wave magnitude , ? Unknown scale
Year Date TimeUTC−05 Placebold is fault Name Plate Depth(km) Fatalities Mag. MMI Tsunami Map Notes 1646 April 3 02:00-03:00 Muzo -La Palma Boyacá Cundinamarca 1646 Muzo North Andes "dozens" IX No [ 6] [ 7] 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 Ms VIII No [ 10] [ 11] 1827 November 16 22:45 Timaná ,Huila 1827 Timaná North Andes 10 250 7.7 Ms X No [ 12] [ 13] 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 Ms X No [ 16] 1875 May 18 16:25 Cúcuta 1875 Cúcuta North Andes 20 10,000 7.5 ? IX No [ 17] 1906 January 31 15:36 Esmeraldas (Ecuador )1906 Ecuador–Colombia Malpelo 20.0 1,000~ 8.8 Mw 8.6 ML VIII Yes 5 m (16 ft) [ 18] [ 19] 1917 August 31 11:36 Acacías ,Meta 1917 Sumapaz North Andes 40 6 7.3 Ms VII No [ 6] [ 20] [ 21] 1936 January 9 09:23 Túquerres 1936 Túquerres North Andes <30 250 7.0 ? VIII No [ 22] [ 23] 1952 February 14 16:02 Tucurá ,Pavarandocito ,Antioquia 1952 Pavarandocito North Andes 44 6.75 Mw No [ 24] [ 25] 1958 January 19 14:07 Ecuador ,Colombia 1958 Ecuador–Colombia North Andes 40–60 111 7.8 Mw 7.6 ML VIII Yes 1.5 m (4.9 ft) [ 26] 1962 July 30 15:18 Aranzazu ,Caldas 1962 Aranzazu North Andes 69 50~ 6.8 Mw VIII No [ 27] [ 28] 1967 February 9 15:24 Algeciras ,Algeciras ,Huila 1967 Neiva North Andes 55.0 98 7.2 Mw 6.8 ML VIII No [ 29] [ 30] [ 31] 1967 July 29 05:24 Bucaramanga ,Aratoca ,Santander 1967 Aratoca North Andes 161.2 6.8 Mw IV No [ 32] 1970 July 31 17:08 Amazonas 1970 Colombia South American 644.8 1 8.0 Mw 7.7 ML IV No [ 33] 1970 September 26 22:38 Bahía Solano ,Bahía Solano ,Chocó 1970 Bahía Solano North Andes 15.0 6.5 Mw VII [ 34] [ 35] 1975 January 24 21:08 Chocó 1975 Chocó Panama 36.0 6.5 Ms VII [ 36] 1979 November 23 18:40 El Cairo 1979 El Cairo North Andes 108.0 44 7.2 Mw 6.7 ML VII No [ 37] 1979 December 12 07:59 Tumaco 1979 Tumaco North Andes 33 600 8.1 Ms IX Yes 5 m (16 ft) [ 38] 1983 March 31 08:15 Rosas-Julumito ,Popayán 1983 Popayán North Andes 12.0 300 5.5 ML VIII No [ 39] [ 40] 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 Mw VII No [ 41] [ 42] [ 43] 1991 November 19 17:28 Chocó 1991 Chocó North Andes 21.3 7.2 Mw IX [ 44] 1992 October 18 10:11 Murindó ,Murindó ,Antioquia 1992 Murindó North Andes 10.0 10 7.2 Mw X No [ 45] [ 46] 1994 June 6 20:47 Irlanda ,Páez 1994 Páez River North Andes 12 1,100 6.8 Mw VII No [ 47] [ 48] 1995 January 19 10:05 Guaicáramo ,Tauramena 1995 Tauramena North Andes 17.3 6 6.0 ML 6.5 Mw VII No [ 49] [ 50] 1995 February 8 13:40 Cali 1995 Cali North Andes 73.5 35 6.4 Mw V No [ 51] 1996 November 4 12:24 Chocó 1996 Colombia-Panama Panama 14.0 6.3 Mw VIII No [ 52] 1999 January 25 18:19 Córdoba-Navarco ,Armenia 1999 Armenia North Andes 17.0 1,900 6.1 Mw X No [ 53] [ 54] 2004 November 15 04:06 Bajo Baudó ,Pacific Ocean ,Chocó 2004 Bajo Baudó North Andes 15.0 6.7 ML 7.2 Mw VIII [ 55] 2007 September 9 20:49 Gorgona Island 2007 Gorgona Island North Andes 15.0 5 injured / 34 homes damaged 6.8 Mw VII [ 56] 2008 May 24 19:20 El Calvario 2008 El Calvario North Andes 35 11 5.9 Mw VII No [ 57] 2012 September 30 11:31 La Vega 2012 La Vega North Andes 170 7.3 Mw VII No [ 58] 2013 February 9 09:16 Yacuanquer ,Nariño 2013 Nariño North Andes 145 6.9 Mw VI No [ 59] [ 60] 2013 August 13 10:43 Chocó 2013 Chocó Coiba 12.0 6.7 Mw V [ 61] 2015 March 10 15:55 Bucaramanga ,Aratoca ,Santander 2015 Santander North Andes 155 6.2 Mw VI No [ 62] [ 63] 2016 April 16 18:58 Ecuador ,Colombia 2016 Ecuador-Colombia North Andes 20.6 676 7.8 Mw IX No [ 64] 2016 September 13 20:58 Mutatá ,Mutatá ,Antioquia 2016 Mutatá North Andes 18.0 6.0 Mw VI No [ 65] 2018 June 12 04:35 Pasto ,Nariño 2018 Pasto North Andes 10.0 2 4.9 Mw VI No [ 66] [ 67] 2021 March 1 17:57 Antioquia Department 2021 Antioquia North Andes 10.0 3 5.1 Mw VI No [ 68] 2023 August 17 12:04 Meta Department 2023 Central Colombia North Andes 10.0 2 6.1 Mw VII No 2025 June 8 13:08 Cundinamarca Department 2025 Cundinamarca North Andes 9.0 6.3 Mw VIII No 2025 September 14 2:17 Antioquia Department 2025 Antoquia North Andes 50.2 1 5.4 Mw V No [ 69] [ 70]
Notes and references [ edit ] ^ Bakun & Wentworth 1997 scale[ 9] ^ Ramírez, 1975, p.63 ^ Ramírez, 1975, p.65 ^a b Ramírez, 1975, p.217 ^ Espinosa Baquero, 2001, p.273 ^ Various Authors, 2014, p.7 ^a b c d Various Authors, 2014, p.8 ^ Espinosa Baquero, 1999, p.211 ^ Salcedo & Gómez, 2013 ^ Bakun & Wentworth, 1997 ^ Gómez Capera et al., 2014, p.214 ^ Sarabia Gómez et al., 2010a, p.154 ^ Various Authors, 2008a, p.30 ^ NGDC."Comments for the 1827 Earthquake" .National Centers for Environmental Information . Archived fromthe original on July 21, 2013. Retrieved2017-09-18 . ^ Paris et al., 2000, p.46 ^ NGDC."Comments for the 1834 Earthquake" .National Centers for Environmental Information . Archived fromthe original on December 13, 2012. Retrieved2017-09-18 . ^ Giesecke et al., 2004 ^ NGDC."Comments for the 1875 Earthquake" .National Centers for Environmental Information . Archived fromthe original on December 14, 2012. Retrieved2017-09-18 . ^ Mendoza & Dewey, 1984 ^ "M 8.8 – near the coast of Ecuador" . United States Geological Survey. Retrieved2017-09-18 .^ Sarabia Gómez et al., 2010a, p.160 ^ NGDC."Comments for the 1917 Earthquake" .National Centers for Environmental Information . Archived fromthe original on January 13, 2017. Retrieved2017-09-18 . ^ Sarabia Gómez et al., 2010b ^ NGDC."Comments for the 1936 Earthquake" .National Centers for Environmental Information . Archived fromthe original on September 20, 2017. Retrieved2017-09-18 . ^ Ramírez, 1975, p.223 ^ Paris et al., 2000, p.13 ^ NGDC."Comments for the 1958 Earthquake" .National Centers for Environmental Information . Archived fromthe original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved2017-09-18 . ^ Various Authors, 2014, p.9 ^ Various Authors, 2008b, pp.83–94 ^ NGDC."Comments for the 1967 Earthquake" .National Centers for Environmental Information . Archived fromthe original on January 3, 2017. Retrieved2017-09-18 . ^ "M 7.0 – Colombia" . United States Geological Survey. Retrieved2017-09-18 .^ Paris et al., 2000, p.43 ^ "M 6.8 – northern Colombia" . United States Geological Survey. Retrieved2017-09-18 .^ "M 8.0 – Colombia" . United States Geological Survey. Retrieved2017-09-18 .^ Paris et al., 2000, p.16 ^ "M 6.5 – near the west coast of Colombia" . United States Geological Survey. Retrieved2017-09-18 .^ "M 6.5 – Panama-Colombia border region" . United States Geological Survey. Retrieved2017-09-18 .^ "M 6.4 – Colombia" . United States Geological Survey. Retrieved2017-09-18 .^ NGDC."Comments for the 1979 Earthquake" .National Centers for Environmental Information . Archived fromthe original on September 20, 2017. Retrieved2017-09-18 . ^ Marín Arias et al., 2006, p.94 ^ Paris et al., 2000, p.24 ^ "M 6.4 – Colombia-Ecuador border region" . United States Geological Survey. Retrieved2017-09-18 .^ "M 7.2 – Colombia-Ecuador border region" . United States Geological Survey. Retrieved2017-09-18 .^ "M 6.0 – Colombia-Ecuador border region" . United States Geological Survey. Retrieved2017-09-18 .^ "M 7.2 – near the west coast of Colombia" . United States Geological Survey. Retrieved2017-09-18 .^ Paris et al., 2000, p.15 ^ "M 7.2 – northern Colombia" . United States Geological Survey. Retrieved2017-09-18 .^ Paris et al., 2000, p.58 ^ NGDC."Comments for the 1994 Earthquake" .National Centers for Environmental Information . Archived fromthe original on September 20, 2017. Retrieved2017-09-18 . ^ "M 6.5 – Colombia" . United States Geological Survey. Retrieved2017-09-18 .^ Paris et al., 2000, p.38 ^ "M 6.4 – Colombia" . United States Geological Survey. Retrieved2017-09-18 .^ "M 6.3 – Panama-Colombia border region" . United States Geological Survey. Retrieved2017-09-18 .^ "M 6.1 – Colombia" . United States Geological Survey. Retrieved2017-09-18 .^ Paris et al., 2000, p.25 ^ "M 7.2 – near the west coast of Colombia" . United States Geological Survey. Retrieved2017-09-18 .^ "M 6.8 – near the west coast of Colombia" . United States Geological Survey. Retrieved2017-09-18 .^ NGDC."Comments for the 2008 Earthquake" .National Centers for Environmental Information . Archived fromthe original on January 13, 2017. Retrieved2017-09-18 . ^ "M 7.3 – Colombia" . United States Geological Survey. Retrieved2017-09-18 .^ EMSC."M 7.0 – Colombia – 2013-02-09 14:16:07 UTC" .EMSC . Retrieved2017-09-18 . ^ "M 6.9 – 2 km N of Yacuanquer, Colombia" . United States Geological Survey. Retrieved2017-09-18 .^ "M 6.7 – 101 km WSW of Mutis, Colombia" . United States Geological Survey. Retrieved2017-09-18 .^ EMSC."M 6.2 – Northern Colombia – 2015-03-10 20:55:46 UTC" .EMSC . Retrieved2017-09-18 . ^ "M 6.2 – 9 km NNE of Aratoca, Colombia" . United States Geological Survey. Retrieved2017-09-18 .^ "M 7.8 – 27 km SSE of Muisne, Ecuador" . United States Geological Survey. Retrieved2017-09-18 .^ "M 6.0 – 32 km ENE of Mutata, Colombia" . United States Geological Survey. Retrieved2017-09-18 .^ "M 4.9 – 16 km ESE of Tangua, Colombia" . United States Geological Survey. Retrieved2018-06-12 .^ "Tres sismos en Pasto deja dos muertos y varios heridos" .90minutos.co (in Spanish). 2018-06-12. Retrieved2018-06-12 .^ "M 5.1 – 20 km SW of Urrao, Colombia" . United States Geological Survey. RetrievedMarch 2, 2021 .^ "M 5.4 - 5 km N of Uramita, Colombia" .earthquake.usgs.gov . Retrieved2025-09-16 .^ "Un hombre falleció cuando intentaba arreglar los daños en Frontino, Antioquia, tras los temblores del domingo" .www.elcolombiano.com (in European Spanish). Retrieved2025-09-16 .Bakun, W.H.; Wentworth, C.M. (1997),"Estimating Earthquake Location and Magnitude from Seismic Intensity Data" (PDF) ,Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America ,87 (6):1502– 1521,Bibcode :1997BuSSA..87.1502B ,doi :10.1785/BSSA0870061502 , retrieved2017-09-18 Espinosa Baquero, Armando (1999),"El terremoto de los Muzos (1646, abril 3) a la luz de un excepcional documento colonial, la relación de Don Bartolomé de Mázmela y Poveda" (PDF) ,Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales ,31 :205– 212, retrieved2017-09-18 Espinosa Baquero, Armando (2001),"La sismicidad histórica en Colombia – Historical seismicity in Colombia" (PDF) ,Revista Geográfica Venezolana ,44 :271– 283, retrieved2017-09-18 Giesecke, A.; Capera, A.A.G.; Leschiutta, I.; Migliorini, E.; Valverde, L.R. (2004),"The CERESIS earthquake catalogue and database of the Andean Region: background, characteristics and examples of use" (PDF) ,Annals of Geophysics ,47 (2/3):421– 435, retrieved2017-09-18 Gómez Capera, Augusto Antonio; Salcedo Hurtado, Elkin de Jesús; Bindi, Dino; Choy, José Enrique; García Peláez, Julio Antonio (2014),"Localización y magnitud del terremoto de 1785 en Colombia calculadas a partir de intensidades macrosísmicas" (PDF) ,Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales ,38 (147):206– 217,doi :10.18257/raccefyn.63 , retrieved2017-09-18 Marín Arias, J.P.; Castillo González, H.; Salcedo Hurtado, E. de J. (2006),"Modelo geométrico del foco del terremoto de Popayán (Colombia) a partir de datos macrosísmicos" ,Boletín de Geología, Universidad Industrial de Santander ,28 :93– 109, retrieved2017-09-18 Mendoza, C.; Dewey, J.W. (1984),"Seismicity associated with the great Colombia-Ecuador earthquakes of 1942, 1958, and 1979: Implications for barrier models of earthquake rupture" ,Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America ,74 (2):577– 593, retrieved2017-09-18 Paris, Gabriel; Machette, Michael N.; Dart, Richard L.; Haller, Kathleen M. (2000),Map and Database of Quaternary Faults and Folds in Colombia and its Offshore Regions (PDF) , United States Geological Survey, pp. 1– 66, retrieved2017-09-18 Ramírez, Jesús Emilio (1975),Historia de los terremotos en Colombia ,Instituto Geográfico Agustín Codazzi , pp. 1– 250 Salcedo Hurtado, Elkin de Jesús; Gómez Capera, Augusto Antonio (2013),"Estudio macrosísmico del terremoto del 18 de octubre de 1743 en la región central de Colombia" (PDF) ,Boletín de Geología, Universidad Industrial de Santander ,35 :109– 128, retrieved2017-09-18 Sarabia Gómez, Ana Milena; Cifuentes Avendaño, Hernán Guillermo; Robertson, Kim (2010a),"Análisis histórico de los sismos ocurridos en 1785 y en 1917 en el centro de Colombia" (PDF) ,Revista Colombiana de Geografía ,19 (19):153– 162,doi :10.15446/rcdg.n19.16863 , retrieved2017-09-18 Sarabia, Ana Milena; Cifuentes Avendaño, Hernán Guillermo; Dimaté, Cristina (2010b),Sismos históricos en el Departamento de Nariño ,INGEOMINAS , p. 1, retrieved2017-09-18 Various, Authors (2014),Enciclopedia de desastres naturales históricos de Colombia (PDF) ,Universidad del Quindío , pp. 1– 21, retrieved2017-09-18 Various, Authors (2008a),Ficha Resumen de Efectos: Terremoto del 16 de Noviembre de 1827 (PDF) ,Universidad del Valle , pp. 30– 39, retrieved2017-09-18 Various, Authors (2008b),Ficha Resumen de Efectos: Terremoto del 30 de Julio de 1962 (PDF) ,Universidad del Valle , pp. 83– 95, retrieved2017-09-18 Espinosa Baquero, Armando (2004),Historia Sísmica de Bogotá (PDF) , Sociedad Geográfica de Colombia, pp. 1– 10, retrieved2017-09-18 Herrera Suárez, Paula Margarita; Alfaro Castillo, Andrés José (2014),"Caracterización sísmica de fallas colombianas por analogía con fallas conocidas geológica y sismológicamente" ,Revista Escuela Colombiana de Ingeniería ,95 :37– 46, retrieved2017-09-18
Historical 20th century 21st century
Tectonic plates Terranes Terrane-bounding fault systems Intraterrane faults
Major earthquakes Orogenies Other topics Sources Paris, Gabriel; Machette, Michael N.; Dart, Richard L.; Haller, Kathleen M. (2000).Map and Database of Quaternary Faults and Folds in Colombia and its Offshore Regions (PDF) .USGS . pp. 1– 66. Retrieved2017-06-20 . Gómez Tapias, Jorge; Montes Ramírez, Nohora E.; Almanza Meléndez, María F.; Alcárcel Gutiérrez, Fernando A.; Madrid Montoya, César A.; Diederix, Hans (2015).Geological Map of Colombia .Servicio Geológico Colombiano . pp. 1– 212. Retrieved2019-10-29 .
Various authors (2014).Enciclopedia de desastres naturales históricos de Colombia (PDF) .Universidad del Quindío . pp. 1– 21. Retrieved2017-06-20 .