Reviewed by USGSCalifornia35y ago
M2.8 earthquake 32 km WSW of Ferndale, California
Monday, March 23, 1992, 20:23:09 UTC · 40.443°N, 124.610°W
A magnitude 2.8 earthquake struck 32 km WSW of Ferndale, California on Monday, March 23, 1992, 20:23:09 UTC, at a depth of 20.6 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 2.8
- Minor · md
- Depth
- 21 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
231 kg of TNT
That is about 1/65,214 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 2,065 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
15 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North American and Pacific plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
21 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 50 km
USGS lists 6 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M3.2 on March 26, 1992. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 2.533 km SSW of Ferndale, California34y ago · 18 km SE of this epicenter
- 2.775 km WSW of Ferndale, California34y ago · 44 km W of this epicenter
- 2.938 km SW of Ferndale, California34y ago · 16 km S of this epicenter
- 3.238 km SW of Ferndale, California35y ago · 16 km S of this epicenter
- 3.0near the coast of Northern California35y ago · 45 km SE of this epicenter
- 2.570 km W of Ferndale, California35y ago · 45 km NW of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 160 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 · 118 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.2The 1980 Eureka, California EarthquakeNovember 8, 1980 · 81 km N of this epicenter
- 7.1The 1923 Humboldt County, California EarthquakeJanuary 22, 1923 · 36 km W of this epicenter
- 7.0136 km WSW of Brookings, OregonAugust 17, 1991 · 173 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.9103 km W of Pistol River, OregonJuly 13, 1991 · 212 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.8123 km W of Ferndale, CaliforniaNovember 25, 1954 · 93 km W of this epicenter
- 6.884 km W of Ferndale, CaliforniaFebruary 9, 1941 · 60 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.8off the coast of Northern CaliforniaJuly 6, 1934 · 114 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 18 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 3 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1969M4.8
Santa Rosa
2 Oct 1969 · 275 km away · intensity VIII
1 death$8 million damage
- 1954M6.6
Humboldt County
21 Dec 1954 · 75 km away
1 death$2 million damage
- 1932M6.5
Eureka
6 Jun 1932 · 42 km away · intensity VIII
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1992M7.1
Humboldt County: Ferndale, Petrolia
25 Apr 1992 · 26 km away · intensity VIII
$75 million damagetsunami
- 1980M7.2
North Coast
8 Nov 1980 · 81 km away · intensity VII
$2 million damage
- 1991M6.2
Honeydew, Whitethorn, Petrolia
17 Aug 1991 · 32 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.