Very strong mag. 6.3 earthquake - Abangares, Provincia de Guanacaste, 44 km northwest of Puntarenas, Costa Rica, on Saturday, 16 March 1991 at 06:02 (GMT)
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Very strong magnitude 6.3 earthquake at 33 km depth
Date & time: 16 Mar 1991 06:02:10 UTC
Magnitude: 6.3
Depth: 33.3 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 10.174°N / 85.184°W

Nearest volcano: Cerro Chopo (35 km / 22 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
16 km (10 mi) N of Nandayure (Guanacaste) (pop: 1,650) --> See nearby quakes!
29 km (18 mi) E of Nicoya (Guanacaste) (pop: 15,300) --> See nearby quakes!
30 km (19 mi) SSW of Canas (Cañas, Guanacaste) (pop: 20,300) --> See nearby quakes!
49 km (31 mi) WNW of Chacarita (Puntarenas) (pop: 26,400) --> See nearby quakes!
58 km (36 mi) SSE of Liberia (Guanacaste) (pop: 45,400) --> See nearby quakes!
60 km (37 mi) WNW of Esparza (Espíritu Santo, Puntarenas) (pop: 15,600) --> See nearby quakes!
87 km (54 mi) S of San José (Upala, Alajuela) (pop: 31,400) --> See nearby quakes!
123 km (77 mi) WNW of San Jose (San José) (pop: 335,000) --> See nearby quakes!
236 km (147 mi) W of Puerto Limon (Limón) (pop: 63,100) --> See nearby quakes!
247 km (153 mi) SSE of Managua (Nicaragua) (pop: 973,100) --> See nearby quakes!
Primary data source: USGS (United States Geological Survey)
Estimated released energy: 1.8 x 1014 joules (49.4 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 42502 tons of TNT or 2.7 atomic bombs!) More info
Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies
Info: The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.
Magnitude | Depth | Location | Source |
M 6.3 | 33 km | Costa Rica | USGS |
User reports for this quake
User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
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Recorded aftershocks, latest first (1 quakes):- 12 Sep 1991 05:11 UTC| M 4.3 |60.7 km (37.7 mi) depth|47 km (29 mi) distance| USGS | Details
Earlier earthquakes in the same area since 1900
- Date / time UTC| Mag |Depth|Age|Distance| Details
- 05 Oct 1950 16:09| 7.5 |98km / 61mi|70 years ago|37km / 23mi| Tilaran, 8 km NE of Canas, Cañas, Provincia de Guanacaste, Costa Rica
- 25 Mar 1990 13:22| 7.3 |22km / 14mi|31 years ago|50km / 31mi| North Pacific Ocean, 7.2 km SE of Puntarenas, Costa Rica
- 15 Oct 1967 08:00| 7.1 |160km / 100mi|53 years ago|209km / 130mi| 9.2 km E of Granada, Nicaragua
- 24 Oct 1956 14:42| 7.1 |35km / 22mi|64 years ago|225km / 140mi| North Pacific Ocean, 13 km S of Masachapa, Departamento de Managua, Nicaragua
- 04 Mar 1924 10:07| 7.1 |15km / 9.3mi|97 years ago|145km / 90mi| Cartago, 7.6 km SW of Paraiso, Provincia de Cartago, Costa Rica
- 23 Aug 1978 00:38| 7.0 |56km / 35mi|43 years ago|5km / 3mi| Nicoya, 53 km SE of Liberia, Provincia de Guanacaste, Costa Rica
- 06 Dec 1941 21:24| 7.0 |15km / 9.3mi|79 years ago|197km / 123mi| North Pacific Ocean, 164 km S of Сан-Хосе, Costa Rica
- 22 Dec 1939 04:44| 6.8 |25km / 16mi|81 years ago|82km / 51mi| North Pacific Ocean, 31 km E of Isla Cabo Blanco Island, Costa Rica
- 27 Oct 1940 05:35| 6.6 |35km / 22mi|80 years ago|127km / 79mi| 9.2 km E of Parrita, Provincia de Puntarenas, Costa Rica
- 14 Apr 1973 08:34| 6.5 |33km / 21mi|48 years ago|73km / 45mi| Guatuso, Provincia de Alajuela, 74 km E of Liberia, Costa Rica
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