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Costa Rica · Guanacaste

M2.6 Earthquake near Santa Cruz, Guanacaste (Costa Rica)

UTC time: 2026-01-22 08:53:54 UTC Local time: —

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About this earthquake

On January 22, 2026 at 08:53 UTC, a magnitude M2.6 earthquake occurred near Santa Cruz, Guanacaste (Costa Rica). The hypocenter lay relatively close to the surface at around 15 km, increasing how strongly it was felt. Events of this size typically go unnoticed.

The event was recorded by EMSC. Costa Rica: 5 earthquakes were recorded in the past 24 hours, the strongest reaching M3.7.

Details

ID
a67253cc13cc62e78f11c71507170e32c55dd137
Magnitude
M2.6
Depth
15.0 km
UTC time
2026-01-22 08:53:54 UTC
Local time
—
Country
Costa Rica
State
Guanacaste
City
Santa Cruz
County
Santa Cruz
Source
emsc
Coordinates
10.24800, -85.57330
Temperature
21.6°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 15 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 15 km
Shallow
15 km
15 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

  • Rincon de la Vieja Activity reported
    Distance: 70 km ·Complex ·Elevation: 1'729 m ·Last eruption: 2024 ·Costa Rica
  • Miravalles
    Distance: 72 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'028 m ·Last eruption: 1946 ·Costa Rica
  • Tenorio
    Distance: 77 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 1'916 m ·Costa Rica
  • Orosi
    Distance: 82 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 1'659 m ·Costa Rica
  • Arenal
    Distance: 98 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'670 m ·Last eruption: 2010 ·Costa Rica
  • Platanar
    Distance: 132 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 2'267 m ·Costa Rica

Radius · 50 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Nosara AirportCosta Rica · NOB · MRNS
    31.4 kmStraight-line distance
  • Daniel Oduber Quirós International AirportCosta Rica · LIR · MRLB
    38.5 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

Guanacaste

Context for this earthquake

05 Oct 2025 – 05 Oct 2026 · M ≥ 2.0 · 81 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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