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Costa Rica · San José

M3.1 Earthquake near Río Nuevo, San José (Costa Rica)

UTC time: 2026-05-20 20:53:25 UTC Local time: —

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About this earthquake

On May 20, 2026 at 20:53 UTC, a magnitude M3.1 earthquake occurred near Río Nuevo, San José (Costa Rica). The hypocenter lay relatively close to the surface at around 20 km, increasing how strongly it was felt. Earthquakes of this magnitude are often felt but rarely cause damage.

The event was recorded by EMSC. Costa Rica: over the past 24 hours, QuakeMap24 logged 3 earthquakes, the strongest at M3.2.

Details

ID
5cad7a22d93c697b55366eca91e678aa114a77f0
Magnitude
M3.1
Depth
20.0 km
UTC time
2026-05-20 20:53:25 UTC
Local time
—
Country
Costa Rica
State
San José
City
Río Nuevo
County
Pérez Zeledón
Source
emsc
Coordinates
9.46490, -83.80890
Temperature
22.5°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 20 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 20 km
Shallow
20 km
20 km — shallower than the regional average (25.8 km)
Regional average: 25.8 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

  • Irazu
    Distance: 57 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 3'436 m ·Last eruption: 1977 ·Costa Rica
  • Turrialba
    Distance: 62 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 3'340 m ·Last eruption: 2022 ·Costa Rica
  • Barva
    Distance: 81 km ·Complex ·Elevation: 2'906 m ·Last eruption: -6050 ·Costa Rica
  • Poas Activity reported
    Distance: 94 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'697 m ·Last eruption: 2026 ·Costa Rica
  • Platanar
    Distance: 111 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 2'267 m ·Costa Rica
  • Arenal
    Distance: 148 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'670 m ·Last eruption: 2010 ·Costa Rica

Radius · 50 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Quepos Managua AirportCosta Rica · XQP · MRQP
    35.3 kmStraight-line distance

Source: OurAirports · Dataset date: 2026-10-05

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

Costa Rica

Context for this earthquake

05 Oct 2025 – 05 Oct 2026 · M ≥ 3.0 · 393 Catalogue entries

Sufficiently reliable matching data are not currently available for a direct comparison. The area profile shows the available records and their limitations.

Open seismic profile

Historic earthquake map · Costa Rica

Open history map
Explore recent and long-term earthquake activity in this country. Use filters to narrow down by magnitude, depth, and date range.

Country statistics · Costa Rica

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

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