Lying on the Ring of Fire , the Guatemalan highlands and the Valle de la Ermita are frequently shaken by large earthquakes . The last large tremor to hit the Guatemala City region occurred in the 1976 , on the Motagua Fault , a left-lateral strike-slip fault that forms the boundary between the Caribbean Plate and the North American Plate . The 1976 event registered 7.5 on the moment magnitude scale . Smaller , less severe tremors are frequently felt in Guatemala City and environs
1976 event
1976 Guatemala earthquake
Guatemala City