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Costa Rica · Puntarenas Province

M3.3 Earthquake near Guaycará, Puntarenas Province (Costa Rica)

UTC time: 2026-09-18 13:15:42 UTC Local time: —
Magnitude
M3.3
Depth
42.0 km
Source
EMSC

Puntarenas Province · Guaycará

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About this earthquake

A magnitude M3.3 earthquake was recorded near Guaycará, Puntarenas Province (Costa Rica) on September 18, 2026 at 13:15 UTC. With a focal depth of about 42 km, this was a shallow earthquake, whose shaking is usually felt more strongly at the surface. Shaking of this size is frequently noticed but usually harmless.

The event was recorded by EMSC. Costa Rica: 5 earthquakes were recorded in the past 24 hours, the strongest reaching M2.8.

Details

ID
487b5334986fe78e80263dc80a3036b8b1dbf1c8
Magnitude
M3.3
Depth
42.0 km
UTC time
2026-09-18 13:15:42 UTC
Local time
—
Country
Costa Rica
State
Puntarenas Province
City
Guaycará
County
Golfito
Source
emsc
Coordinates
8.71100, -83.01920
Temperature
27.7°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 42 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 42 km
Shallow
42 km
42 km — deeper than the regional average (25.9 km)
Regional average: 25.9 km
Why depth matters

Shallow quakes release energy near the surface — shaking is felt more strongly and damage potential is higher.

Depth classes per USGS

Volcanoes nearby

  • Baru
    Distance: 53 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 3'474 m ·Last eruption: 1550 ·Panama
  • Turrialba
    Distance: 168 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 3'340 m ·Last eruption: 2022 ·Costa Rica
  • Irazu
    Distance: 168 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 3'436 m ·Last eruption: 1977 ·Costa Rica
  • Barva
    Distance: 198 km ·Complex ·Elevation: 2'906 m ·Last eruption: -6050 ·Costa Rica
  • Poas Activity reported
    Distance: 212 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'697 m ·Last eruption: 2026 ·Costa Rica
  • Platanar
    Distance: 230 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 2'267 m ·Costa Rica

Radius · 50 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Golfito AirportCosta Rica · GLF · MRGF
    19.0 kmStraight-line distance
  • Puerto Jimenez AirportCosta Rica · PJM · MRPJ
    36.7 kmStraight-line distance

Source: OurAirports · Dataset date: 2026-09-20

This selection shows geographic proximity, not a hazard zone or confirmed impacts. Distances use recorded site coordinates. Sources & data dates

Puntarenas Province

Context for this earthquake

20 Sep 2025 – 20 Sep 2026 · M ≥ 3.0 · 35 Catalogue entries

Of 34 other entries for this area and period, 18 have a higher stored magnitude. Different magnitude types and reports not yet merged limit the comparison.

Open seismic profile

Historic earthquake map · Costa Rica

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Country statistics · Costa Rica

Country overview
View earthquake KPIs, strongest and latest events, and averages for this country.

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