WASHINGTON - A "strong" 6.0-magnitude earthquake shook northern Argentina late Thursday, the US Geological Survey said.
The quake occurred 165 kilometers (105 miles) northeast of Santiago del Estero and 960 kilometers (600 miles) northwest of Buenos Aires, the USGS said.
The earthquake took place at 11:32 pm (0232 GMT Friday) and was 577 kilometers (358.5 miles) deep.
The reading was based on the open-ended Moment Magnitude scale, now used by US seismologists, which measures the area of the fault that ruptured and the total energy released.
A measurement of six or higher indicates a strong quake, seven a major quake and eight a great quake.
09/22/2006 03:28 GMT