Reviewed by USGSCalifornia72y ago
M6.8 earthquake 123 km W of Ferndale, California
Thursday, November 25, 1954, 11:16:40 UTC · 40.447°N, 125.711°W
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck 123 km W of Ferndale, California on Thursday, November 25, 1954, 11:16:40 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.1 on January 22, 1923.
- Magnitude
- 6.8
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 10 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- V
- Moderate (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
284 kilotons of TNT
That is about 19 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 596 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
9 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Pacific and Juan de Fuca plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
10 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
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the following 30 days. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 63 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.4123 km W of Big Lagoon, CaliforniaJanuary 31, 1922 · 83 km N of this epicenter
- 7.1The 1923 Humboldt County, California EarthquakeJanuary 22, 1923 · 57 km E of this epicenter
- 6.884 km W of Ferndale, CaliforniaFebruary 9, 1941 · 44 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.8off the coast of Northern CaliforniaJuly 6, 1934 · 79 km N of this epicenter
- 6.552 km WNW of Big Lagoon, CaliforniaJuly 15, 1918 · 128 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.5235 km W of Port Orford, OregonAugust 5, 1910 · 293 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.568 km W of Ferndale, CaliforniaOctober 3, 1941 · 55 km E of this epicenter
- 6.5The 1932 Eureka, California EarthquakeJune 6, 1932 · 124 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 10 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1954M6.6
Humboldt County
21 Dec 1954 · 160 km away
1 death$2 million damage
- 1932M6.5
Eureka
6 Jun 1932 · 124 km away · intensity VIII
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1865
Fort Humboldt, Eureka
1 Oct 1865 · 119 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1922M7.6
Northern
31 Jan 1922 · 64 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1923M7.1
Northern
22 Jan 1923 · 57 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1873M6.7
Northern
23 Nov 1873 · 224 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.