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Very strong mag. 6.3 earthquake - Coral Sea, Vanuatu, on Saturday, 21 December 1985 at 10:01 (GMT)
Very strong magnitude 6.3 earthquake at 33 km depth
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Date & time: 21 Dec 1985 10:01:58 UTC
Magnitude: 6.3Depth: 33.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 14.187°S / 166.452°E
(
Coral Sea,
Vanuatu)
Nearest volcano:
Gaua (113 km / 70 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:116 km (72 mi) NW of Port-Olry (pop: 1,950) -->
See nearby quakes!124 km (77 mi) WSW of Sola (pop: 1,170) -->
See nearby quakes!167 km (104 mi) NNW of Luganville (pop: 13,400) -->
See nearby quakes!232 km (144 mi) NNW of Norsup (pop: 3,000) -->
See nearby quakes!392 km (243 mi) S of Lata (Santa Cruz Islands, Solomon Islands) (pop: 553) -->
See nearby quakes!442 km (275 mi) NNW of Port Vila (pop: 35,900) -->
See nearby quakes!Primary data source:
USGS (United States Geological Survey)
Estimated released energy: 1.8 x 10
14 joules (49.4 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 42502 tons of TNT or 2.7 atomic bombs!)
More info[show map]
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Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies
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| Magnitude | Depth | Location | Source |
| M 6.3 | 33 km | Vanuatu | USGS |
Note: for quakes of 2012 and earlier, our database often contains only records from USGS.
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Aftershocks
More info
Based on its magnitude, the fault that was active during the quake ruptured along a surface of approx. 200 km
2 (=77 sqare miles) as a first-order estimate. The length of the rupture zone thus was probably around 24 km (15 mi).
Aftershocks typically occur during the weeks and months following the quake at or near the same fault, at distances of up to approx. two times the length of the rupture zone.
The often broadly linear arrangement of aftershock epicenters encompasses the rupture zone of the main shock (check on the
map below to verify).
19 Jun 1986 06:58 UTC
| M 5.4 | 72.5 km (45 mi) depth
| 23 km (14 mi) distance
| USGS | Details05 May 1986 04:24 UTC
| M 5.0 | 214 km (133 mi) depth
| 86 km (53 mi) distance
| USGS | Details14 Apr 1986 00:25 UTC
| M 6.5 | 29.4 km (18.3 mi) depth
| 50 km (31 mi) distance
| USGS | Very strong mag. 6.5 earthquake - Coral Sea, 78 km west of Sola, Torba, Vanuatu, on Monday, 14 April 1986 at 00:25 (GMT)23 Feb 1986 18:28 UTC
| M 5.5 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 41 km (26 mi) distance
| USGS | Details12 Feb 1986 16:13 UTC
| M 5.0 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 69 km (43 mi) distance
| USGS | Details03 Feb 1986 11:52 UTC
| M 4.1 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 75 km (47 mi) distance
| USGS | Details02 Feb 1986 23:28 UTC
| M 4.2 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 71 km (44 mi) distance
| USGS | Details02 Feb 1986 01:44 UTC
| M 5.9 | 31 km (19.3 mi) depth
| 68 km (42 mi) distance
| USGS | Details30 Jan 1986 18:30 UTC
| M 5.0 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 71 km (44 mi) distance
| USGS | Details11 Jan 1986 12:31 UTC
| M 5.6 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 42 km (26 mi) distance
| USGS | Details11 Jan 1986 11:24 UTC
| M 5.3 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 46 km (29 mi) distance
| USGS | Details11 Jan 1986 11:00 UTC
| M 4.9 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 47 km (29 mi) distance
| USGS | Details11 Jan 1986 10:46 UTC
| M 5.2 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 49 km (30 mi) distance
| USGS | Details11 Jan 1986 09:09 UTC
| M 4.3 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 34 km (21 mi) distance
| USGS | Details11 Jan 1986 07:26 UTC
| M 5.3 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 44 km (27 mi) distance
| USGS | Details11 Jan 1986 06:26 UTC
| M 5.2 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 56 km (35 mi) distance
| USGS | DetailsShow all
11 Jan 1986 05:27 UTC
| M 5.4 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 50 km (31 mi) distance
| USGS | Details11 Jan 1986 05:13 UTC
| M 5.5 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 50 km (31 mi) distance
| USGS | Details06 Jan 1986 22:51 UTC
| M 5.3 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 45 km (28 mi) distance
| USGS | Details03 Jan 1986 18:59 UTC
| M 4.7 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 28 km (18 mi) distance
| USGS | Details28 Dec 1985 17:24 UTC
| M 5.1 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 10 km (6 mi) distance
| USGS | Details28 Dec 1985 15:14 UTC
| M 5.1 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 73 km (46 mi) distance
| USGS | Details28 Dec 1985 02:18 UTC
| M 4.0 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 23 km (14 mi) distance
| USGS | Details27 Dec 1985 12:43 UTC
| M 3.8 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 21 km (13 mi) distance
| USGS | Details27 Dec 1985 10:16 UTC
| M 4.3 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 46 km (29 mi) distance
| USGS | Details26 Dec 1985 08:48 UTC
| M 4.7 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 15 km (10 mi) distance
| USGS | Details25 Dec 1985 21:26 UTC
| M 4.3 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 19 km (12 mi) distance
| USGS | Details25 Dec 1985 21:07 UTC
| M 4.3 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 27 km (16 mi) distance
| USGS | Details25 Dec 1985 18:10 UTC
| M 4.8 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 20 km (13 mi) distance
| USGS | Details24 Dec 1985 15:42 UTC
| M 4.1 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 14 km (9 mi) distance
| USGS | Details24 Dec 1985 04:37 UTC
| M 5.8 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 19 km (12 mi) distance
| USGS | Details24 Dec 1985 00:02 UTC
| M 4.5 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 64 km (40 mi) distance
| USGS | Details23 Dec 1985 18:15 UTC
| M 5.5 | 42.1 km (26.2 mi) depth
| 27 km (17 mi) distance
| USGS | Details23 Dec 1985 00:52 UTC
| M 5.2 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 83 km (52 mi) distance
| USGS | Details22 Dec 1985 20:50 UTC
| M 5.2 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 42 km (26 mi) distance
| USGS | Details22 Dec 1985 19:56 UTC
| M 4.2 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 70 km (44 mi) distance
| USGS | Details22 Dec 1985 09:10 UTC
| M 4.8 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 8 km (5 mi) distance
| USGS | Details22 Dec 1985 07:39 UTC
| M 4.1 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 18 km (11 mi) distance
| USGS | Details21 Dec 1985 16:03 UTC
| M 3.9 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 19 km (12 mi) distance
| USGS | Details21 Dec 1985 14:40 UTC
| M 5.4 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 12 km (8 mi) distance
| USGS | Details21 Dec 1985 13:11 UTC
| M 4.6 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 38 km (23 mi) distance
| USGS | Details21 Dec 1985 11:09 UTC
| M 5.3 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 16 km (10 mi) distance
| USGS | Details
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