4.5mb
Colombia · UTC
Colombia earthquakes: the largest since 1900
The historical catalogue includes USGS M6+ from 1900, M4.5+ from 1970 and delivered events since the project began. It is not a complete record of all small earthquakes.
- Largest magnitude
- M 8.81906 · Tumaco
- Deepest
- 645 km1970 · Amazonas
- Most recent
- M 7.42026 · San José del Palmar
- Magnitude 8 or larger
- 21900–2026
Timeline
Each dot is one earthquake in this selection; its height shows the magnitude. Select a dot to jump to its entry.
The earthquakes one by one
A selection of strong or high-impact earthquakes. Values are from the USGS catalogue; national agencies may publish a different magnitude or location. Mw, Ms and mb are different scales and not directly comparable.
- 8.8Mw
Tumaco (Nariño)
- Depth 20 km · Shallow
- Offshore epicentre
One of the largest earthquakes ever recorded and the USGS reference event for the Colombia–Ecuador subduction zone. It ruptured offshore Nariño and Esmeraldas and caused a tsunami along the Pacific coast.
Open record - 7.05Mw
- 7Mw
- 8Mw
Amazonas
- Depth 645 km · Deep
At 645 km below the Amazon region, this is one of the largest deep-focus earthquakes on record. Its depth spread the energy so widely that surface shaking was far weaker than the magnitude suggests.
Open record - 7.7Ms
Tumaco (Nariño)
- Depth 24 km · Shallow
- Offshore epicentre
The Tumaco earthquake re-ruptured part of the 1906 zone and sent a tsunami onto the Nariño coast. USGS lists it as Ms 7.7; moment-magnitude estimates in other catalogues are higher.
Open record - 5.5mb
Popayán (Cauca)
- Depth 22 km · Shallow
A moderate, shallow earthquake almost beneath Popayán on Holy Thursday 1983. It badly damaged the colonial city centre, a reminder that distance and depth matter as much as magnitude.
Open record - 7.2Mwb
- 6.8Mw
Páez (Cauca)
- Depth 12 km · Shallow
Shaking in the steep Tierradentro valleys set off landslides that merged into a destructive debris avalanche along the Páez River.
Open record - 6.5Mw
- 6.1Mwc
Armenia (Quindío)
- Depth 17 km · Shallow
The Coffee Region earthquake struck a few kilometres from Armenia at shallow depth and caused severe damage in Armenia, Pereira and towns across Quindío and Risaralda.
Open record - 7.2Mwb
- 7.3Mww
San Agustín (Huila)
- Depth 170 km · Intermediate depth
An intermediate-depth earthquake 170 km beneath the Colombian Massif. It was felt across the southwest, but quakes at this depth typically do less damage than a shallow event of the same size.
Open record - 6.2Mww
Cepitá (Santander)
- Depth 155 km · Intermediate depth
Part of the Bucaramanga nest, a compact cluster about 150 km deep that is one of the most persistently active intermediate-depth sources in the world.
Open record - 6.1Mww
El Calvario (Meta)
- Depth 10 km · Shallow
A shallow earthquake in the Eastern Cordillera foothills northwest of Villavicencio, felt strongly in Bogotá and followed by many aftershocks.
Open record - 7.4Mww
San José del Palmar (Chocó)
- Depth 116 km · Intermediate depth
The strongest earthquake with an onshore Colombian epicentre since 1970 in the USGS catalogue, 116 km deep beneath Chocó. More than 1,200 people sent felt reports to USGS.
Open record
Why Colombia has so many earthquakes
Three plates meet beneath Colombia. Off the Pacific coast the Nazca Plate dives under South America, a subduction zone similar to Cascadia in the Pacific Northwest. It produces the country's largest earthquakes and its tsunamis.
Inland, the Andes are cut by active faults such as the Romeral system and the faults along the eastern foothills. These generate shallow, moderate earthquakes that are dangerous when they strike close to cities. The sinking slab also produces intermediate-depth quakes, most famously beneath Bucaramanga.
How this compares worldwide
The 1906 Colombia–Ecuador earthquake appears on the USGS list of the 20 largest earthquakes since 1900, alongside Chile 1960, Alaska 1964 and Sumatra 2004. Most of Colombia's destructive earthquakes, however, were far smaller: Popayán 1983 and Armenia 1999 were below magnitude 6.5.
This archive uses USGS values so that Colombian events can be compared with earthquakes elsewhere on the site. The Colombian Geological Survey (SGC) may publish different magnitudes and locations for the same events, and its historical catalogue covers earthquakes before 1900.
Frequently asked questions
What was the largest earthquake in Colombia?
The magnitude 8.8 earthquake of 31 January 1906, centred offshore near the border with Ecuador. The largest with an onshore epicentre in the USGS catalogue is the deep 1970 Amazonas earthquake (M8.0).
Does Colombia get tsunamis?
Yes, on its Pacific coast. The 1906 and 1979 subduction earthquakes both caused tsunamis along the Nariño coast. Large earthquakes elsewhere in the Pacific can also send tsunami waves toward Colombia.
What should visitors do if they feel an earthquake in Colombia?
Protect yourself during shaking, then follow instructions from local authorities. Official reports come from the Colombian Geological Survey; the national disaster agency UNGRD coordinates emergency information.
Why is Colombia's yearly archive missing some big earthquakes?
The yearly archive only lists epicentres inside the country's land borders. Offshore events such as 1906 and 1979 are therefore shown in this curated list and on the world map.
Known events in this window: 24 · 2026
- 4.1mb
- 4.3mb
- 5mb
- 7.4mww
- 4.2mb
- 4.3mb
- 4.3mb
- 4.4mb
- 4.6mb
- 4.5mb
- 4.6mb
- 4.7mb
- 5.3mww
- 4.5mb
- 4.6mb
- 4.6mb
- 4.5mb
- 4.6mb
- 4.9mww
- 4.9mb
- 4.8mb
- 4.9mb
- 4.7mww
Catalogue coverage
The historical catalogue includes USGS M6+ from 1900, M4.5+ from 1970 and delivered events since the project began. It is not a complete record of all small earthquakes.
— UTC
TimelineContinue exploring
How to look up a historical earthquake
Start with a year and narrow it down by month if you know the approximate date. Check origin time and epicentre to distinguish earthquakes in the same sequence. Older records capture mainly larger events. An increase in entries across decades can reflect better detection as well as changes in seismic activity.