Reviewed by USGS59y ago
M5.0 earthquake off the coast of Oregon
Wednesday, May 8, 1968, 22:17:13 UTC · 43.871°N, 128.179°W
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck off the coast of Oregon on Wednesday, May 8, 1968, 22:17:13 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.3 on May 8, 1968.
- Magnitude
- 5.0
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 33 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
477 tons of TNT
That is about 1/32 of the Hiroshima bomb. Each whole step in magnitude is about 32 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
19 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
33 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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 49 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.5235 km W of Port Orford, OregonAugust 5, 1910 · 139 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.4213 km W of Port Orford, OregonAugust 20, 1952 · 141 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.4off the coast of OregonSeptember 11, 1928 · 197 km W of this epicenter
- 6.3off the coast of OregonMay 8, 1968 · 36 km S of this epicenter
- 6.3off the coast of OregonSeptember 25, 1936 · 137 km S of this epicenter
- 6.3192 km WSW of Pistol River, OregonSeptember 28, 1945 · 278 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.2off the coast of OregonDecember 30, 1944 · 195 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.2off the coast of OregonAugust 22, 1914 · 63 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 1 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1700M9.0
Cascadia Subduction Zone
27 Jan 1700 · 282 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.