The rupture area of the 1877 earthquake has been recognised as one of the major seismic gaps on the plate boundary , known as the " Northern Chile Seismic Gap " . The = 7.7 2007 Tocopilla earthquake occurred at the southern edge of the gap , but is not considered to have necessarily reduced the risk of a great megathrust earthquake within this area . In 2005 , a recurrence period of 135 years was estimated for great earthquakes along this part of the plate boundary , suggesting that a similar earthquake to the 1877 event was likely in the early 21st century . The 2014 Iquique earthquake struck in the same seismic gap with a magnitude of = 8.2
2007 Tocopilla earthquake
2007 Tocopilla earthquake
1877 Iquique earthquake