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M4.6 earthquake 61 km WSW of Cafayate, Salta, Argentina

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 61 km WSW of Cafayate, Salta, Argentina at 06:24 local time (09:24 UTC) on 6 Sept 2026, at a depth of 10 km, according to USGS.

Data: USGS · updated 2026-09-25 12:28 UTC · reviewed

Magnitude
4.6light
body-wave magnitude (mb)
Depth
10 km
Status
Reviewed
Origin time
2026-09-06 09:24:37 UTC
Local: 6 Sept 2026, 06:24:37 (America/Argentina/Salta)
Epicentre
26.196° S, 66.576° W

Circles show this event and others within 30 km from 7 days before to 30 days after. Lines: plate boundaries and GEM active faults. Open on the live map

Nearby places

Distance and estimated shaking at nearby places
PlaceDistanceEst. shaking
CafayateSalta, Argentina · pop. 16,83661 kmIIIWeak
Santa MaríaCatamarca, Argentina · pop. 16,54576 kmIIIWeak
Tafí ViejoTucuman, Argentina · pop. 48,459144 kmIIWeak
Yerba BuenaTucuman, Argentina · pop. 50,783144 kmIIWeak
San Miguel de TucumánTucuman, Argentina · pop. 548,866153 kmIIWeak
SaltaArgentina · pop. 520,683193 kmINot felt
San Salvador de JujuyJujuy, Argentina · pop. 257,970258 kmINot felt
Santiago del EsteroArgentina · pop. 252,192291 kmINot felt

Shaking is an estimate from the intensity prediction equation of Allen, Wald & Worden (2012), not an observation. Local ground and buildings can change it by a level or more. Likely felt out to about 82 km.

Every agency's solution

Agencies locate earthquakes with their own stations and methods, so their numbers differ. We match reports of the same event by time, distance and magnitude and show them side by side. The headline uses USGS, which has been reviewed by an analyst.

AgencyMagnitudeDepthEpicentreTime offsetStatus
USGSheadlineUSGS NEIC via U.S. Geological Survey4.6 mb10 km26.20° S, 66.58° W–Reviewed

How big was it?

Widely felt near the epicentre: rattling windows and objects. Significant damage is unlikely.

It released roughly the energy of 120 t of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step means about 32 times more energy and 10 times larger waves on a seismogram. Depth matters too: at 10 km this was a shallow earthquake, which is felt more strongly at the surface than a deeper one of the same size.

M4.6 releases about 32× the energy of M3.6, and its waves are about 10× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 120 t of TNT vs 3.8 t of TNT.

Each square is the energy of one M3.6. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.

Aftershocks and nearby activity

4 later earthquakes within 30 km; the largest was M5.3 8 days ago. 2 in the 7 days before. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.

Aftershocks

Mainshock M4.6

4 later earthquakes nearby. Aftershock rates typically fall off roughly as 1/time (Omori's law).

Aftershocks
Time after mainshock (hours)MagnitudeDepth (km)
72.715.010
178.264.710
335.395.310
450.094.310
  1. 5.364 km W of Cafayate, Salta, Argentina09-20 08:47
  2. 5.053 km W of Cafayate, Salta, Argentina09-09 10:06
  3. 4.764 km W of Cafayate, Salta, Argentina09-13 19:40
  4. 4.375 km W of Cafayate, Salta, Argentina09-25 03:30

Did you feel it?

Reports from people help show where shaking was strong. They are anonymous and shown here in aggregate.

Reports close 14 days after an earthquake.

Reports on SeismoAtlas

No reports yet.

Event id us7000tent. First recorded here 28 Sept 2026, 17:32:12 UTC. Solutions: USGS (usgs:us7000tent). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M4.6 earthquake 61 km WSW of Cafayate, Salta, Argentina”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/us7000tent-m4-6-earthquake-61-km-wsw-of-cafayate-salta-argentina, data from USGS.

JSON: /api/v1/events/us7000tent. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.