Bocono-San Sebastian Fault
Venezuela · continental transform · 2765.8 km of mapped active fault in 21 traces
background as of 7 November 2026.
consistent with baseline
| Window | the last 30.0 days |
|---|---|
| Earthquakes counted | 0 at M4.5 or above |
| Expected in that window | 0.15 |
What this system normally does
From 1995 to 2025 the catalogue holds 53 earthquakes of M4.5 or larger attributable to this system: about 1.77 a year. That figure is what "elevated" on this page is measured against.
The fault itself
| Mapped length | 2765.8 km |
|---|---|
| Traces | 21 |
| Tectonic setting | continental transform |
| Slip types | Dextral, Dextral-Reverse, Dextral-Normal |
| Depth attributed to it | down to 50.0 km |
| Extent | 7.57 to 11.05 latitude, -73.23 to -67.72 longitude |
Recorded history
NOAA's hazard records hold 18 significant earthquakes and one tsunami attributed to this system since 1610.
The deadliest was the 24 June 2026 magnitude 7.5 earthquake (Venezuela: Northern Venezuela), which killed 6,509 people.
The strongest earthquake on record here was magnitude 7.9, on 3 February 1610 (Venezuela: la Grita, Bailadores, Merida).
Across the entries that record a death toll, 8,376 people died.
| Date | What | Where | Toll |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 June 2026 | magnitude 7.5 earthquake | Venezuela: Northern Venezuela | 6,509 dead, $19,600 million damage |
| 24 June 2026 | tsunami (waves to 0 m) | Northwest Venezuela | 6,509 dead, $19,600 million damage |
| 18 May 1875 | magnitude 7.5 earthquake | Colombia: Cucuta, San Cayetano, Villa del Rosario | 1,001 dead, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 29 April 1894 | magnitude 7.1 earthquake | Venezuela: Merida, Tovar; Colombia: N Santander | 400 dead, damage $1 to 5 million |
| 9 July 1950 | magnitude 6.1 earthquake | Colombia: Anboledas | 300 dead, $20 million damage |
| 3 August 1950 | magnitude 6.4 earthquake | Venezuela: El Tocuyo | 100 dead, damage under $1 million |
| 3 February 1610 | magnitude 7.9 earthquake | Venezuela: la Grita, Bailadores, Merida | 60 dead, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 5 April 1975 | magnitude 6.1 earthquake | Venezuela | 3 dead, $1 million damage |
| 7 November 2015 | magnitude 5.3 earthquake | Venezuela: Merida | 1 dead, 33 homes destroyed, damage under $1 million |
| 22 November 2015 | magnitude 5.1 earthquake | Venezuela: Merida | 1 dead, damage under $1 million |
| 18 July 1986 | magnitude 4.9 earthquake | Venezuela: Churuguara, Falcon, Lara | 1 dead, 30 homes destroyed, damage under $1 million |
| 16 January 1644 | magnitude 6.9 earthquake | Colombia: Pamploma, Herran; Venezuela: Merida | damage $5 to 25 million |
| 17 November 1888 | magnitude 6.4 earthquake | Venezuela: Guanare | damage $1 to 5 million |
| 12 September 2009 | magnitude 6.3 earthquake | Venezuela: Carabobo | damage under $1 million |
| 29 September 1886 | magnitude 5.6 earthquake | Venezuela: Trujillo | damage $1 to 5 million |
| 27 November 2009 | magnitude 5.4 earthquake | Venezuela: Siquisique | damage under $1 million |
| 26 November 1980 | magnitude 5.0 earthquake | Venezuela: E | 30 homes destroyed, damage $1 to 5 million |
| 19 September 1966 | magnitude 5.0 earthquake | Venezuela | damage $5 to 25 million |
| 3 April 2018 | magnitude 4.9 earthquake | Venezuela: Merida | damage $1 to 5 million |
A dash means NOAA recorded no number, not that nobody died. Older entries are fewer because fewer were written down, not because less happened.
Recorded history: NOAA NCEI hazard databases, public domain, retrieved 2026-10-22.
Who to listen to if you live here
UNGRD, National Disaster Risk Management Unit is the agency that tells people on this system what to do. https://portal.gestiondelriesgo.gov.co/ (in Spanish)
Where these numbers come from
Fault geometry, length and segment counts: GEM Global Active Faults Database (GEM GAF-DB), GEM Foundation, https://github.com/GEMScienceTools/gem-global-active-faults Licence: CC-BY-SA-4.0. Figures derived from it here are offered under the same licence. Earthquake counts, magnitudes and depths: United States Geological Survey, public domain. The activity judgement is ours, computed from those two inputs, and is not a statement by either agency.