Colombia suffers a 7.4 magnitude earthquake

Aug. 17, 2026

Q: An earthquake in Colombia last week killed hundreds of people and left thousands more injured, missing, and homeless. Where is Colombia in northwestern South America?

Circle the area on this map

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Q: The earthquake measured magnitude 7.4, nearly the same size as two earthquakes that devastated neighboring Venezuela in June. Venezuela is …

A. North of Colombia

B. East of Colombia

C. South of Colombia

D. West of Colombia

Q: Emergency crews and civilians desperately searched for survivors trapped under collapsed buildings in Cali, where just days earlier Colombia’s new president had been sworn into office instead of in the nation’s capital. What is the capital and largest city of Colombia?

A. Bogota

B. Caracas

C. Lima

D. Quito

Q: The earthquake severely damaged Cali and other Colombian cities and towns on the western slope and of which mountain range that extends 5,500 miles along the western edge of South America?

A. Alps

B. Andes

C. Appalachian

D. Atlas

Q: Five days after Colombia’s earthquake, a magnitude 7.7 quake struck Indonesia on the opposite side of the ocean. Indonesia and Colombia are on the Ring of Fire, a tectonic belt of earthquakes and volcanoes that encompasses most of the Pacific Ocean. What share of the world’s earthquakes occur along the Pacific Ring of Fire?

A. 30%

B. 50%

C. 70%

D. 90%

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Answers for this quiz: Click here