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United States Geological Survey (USGS) – The July 19, 2024, M 7.4 earthquake near Atacama, Chile occurred as the result of normal faulting.

The earthquake occurred at an intermediate depth within the subducted Nazca plate, at a depth of about 120 km under the triple country borders between Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia.

Focal mechanism solutions for the earthquake indicate that rupture occurred on either a steeply or shallowing dipping normal fault within the interior of the subducted Nazca slab.

Slip on a fault of either orientation would accommodate the down-dip extension of the Nazca slab as it bends downward beneath South America.

At the location of the earthquake, the Nazca plate moves eastward with respect to the South America plate, subducting at the Peru-Chile Trench along the South America coastline at velocity of about 74 mm/yr.