Reviewed by USGSWashington62y ago
M6.7 earthquake 1 km ENE of Dash Point, Washington
Thursday, April 29, 1965, 15:28:45 UTC · 47.325°N, 122.410°W
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck 1 km ENE of Dash Point, Washington on Thursday, April 29, 1965, 15:28:45 UTC, at a depth of 64.2 km (shallow). USGS received 189 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of VIII (severe). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.7 on April 13, 1949.
- Magnitude
- 6.7
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 64 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 189
- Max intensity VIII
- Est. shaking
- VII
- Very strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
169 kilotons of TNT
That is about 11 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 355 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
272 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Juan de Fuca and North American plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
64 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
Reports sent by people to USGS, grouped by place (most reports first). Intensity uses the Modified Mercalli scale (I–X): what people felt, not the magnitude.
| Place | Intensity | Reports | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 98466<br>0.285 | VI · Strong | 6 | 65 km |
| 98407<br>0.293 | VII · Very strong | 5 | 65 km |
| 98501<br>0.293 | VII · Very strong | 5 | 81 km |
| 98117<br>0.302 | VIII · Severe | 4 | 78 km |
| 98310<br>0.302 | VII · Very strong | 4 | 74 km |
| 98106<br>0.302 | VII · Very strong | 4 | 70 km |
| 98116<br>0.302 | VI · Strong | 4 | 72 km |
| 98133<br>0.302 | VI · Strong | 4 | 82 km |
| 98402<br>0.302 | VI · Strong | 4 | 64 km |
| 98166<br>0.302 | VI · Strong | 4 | 67 km |
| 98115<br>0.302 | V · Moderate | 4 | 78 km |
| 98444<br>0.302 | IV · Light | 4 | 66 km |
USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 15 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.74 km WNW of Roy, WashingtonApril 13, 1949 · 37 km S of this epicenter
- 6.1Puget Sound region, WashingtonNovember 13, 1939 · 27 km W of this epicenter
- 6.0119 km SSW of Ucluelet, CanadaSeptember 17, 1926 · 298 km W of this epicenter
- 5.8Puget Sound area, WashingtonFebruary 15, 1946 · 37 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 4 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 15 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1949M7.0
Washington
13 Apr 1949 · 24 km away · intensity VIII
8 deaths$25 million damagetsunami
- 1965M6.6
Seattle
29 Apr 1965 · 12 km away · intensity VIII
7 deaths$28 million damage
- 1928M5.8
British Columbia
9 Feb 1928 · 268 km away
tsunami
- 1891
Puget Sound
29 Nov 1891 · 111 km away · intensity VII
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.