Argentina hit by 7.0 quake
[Looks like the center of the quake was ~200 km from Cafayate]
A STRONG earthquake measuring 7.0 hit a sparsely populated region of northern Argentina early on Saturday.
The epicentre of the tremor, which occurred at 6.56am local time, was located 161 kilometres northeast of the city of Santiago del Estero, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, and the quake occurred at a depth of 362.6 miles.
Because the earthquake was so deep below the earth's surface, it only registered at a magnitude of around 2.0 to 3.0, seismologist Marcelo Pena from the Argentine national earthquake institute Inpres.
He said the epicentre of the quake was 24 miles from the town of Campo Gallo in northern Santiago del Estero province, a desert region which is sparsely populated, with only about 5,000 residents.
