A major 1875 earthquake destroyed Cúcuta and several border towns across Colombia and Venezuela, causing widespread casualties and devastation.
Key Facts
- Date
- 18 May 1875, 11:15 AM
- Towns completely destroyed
- Cúcuta, Villa del Rosario, San Antonio del Táchira, Capacho
- Countries affected
- Colombia and Venezuela
- Notable historic site destroyed
- Congress of Cúcuta church (Villa del Rosario, 1821)
- Cities where shaking felt
- Bogotá and Caracas
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
A seismic event of undetermined magnitude struck the Andean region along the Colombia–Venezuela border on 18 May 1875. The area's construction, largely in Spanish colonial style using unreinforced masonry, offered little resistance to strong ground shaking.
On 18 May 1875 at 11:15 AM, the earthquake completely demolished the city of Cúcuta and the town of Villa del Rosario in Colombia, as well as San Antonio del Táchira and Capacho in Venezuela. Casualties were recorded across numerous Venezuelan towns including San Cristóbal, Rubio, and La Grita, and the tremor was felt as far as Bogotá and Caracas.
The disaster left Cúcuta and surrounding municipalities in ruins. Among the destroyed structures was the historic church in Villa del Rosario where the First Congress of Gran Colombia had convened in 1821; its partial ruins remain visible today as a reminder of the earthquake's scale and the region's colonial heritage.