Reviewed by USGSOregon54y ago
M5.6 earthquake 136 km W of Depoe Bay, Oregon
Saturday, June 16, 1973, 14:43:47 UTC · 44.980°N, 125.774°W
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 136 km W of Depoe Bay, Oregon on Saturday, June 16, 1973, 14:43:47 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.6 on April 8, 1972.
- Magnitude
- 5.6
- 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
4 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/4 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 8 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
26 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Juan de Fuca and North American 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 39 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 · 278 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.4213 km W of Port Orford, OregonAugust 20, 1952 · 257 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.3off the coast of OregonMay 8, 1968 · 245 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.2off the coast of OregonAugust 22, 1914 · 205 km W of this epicenter
- 6.2149 km W of Port Orford, OregonMay 28, 1938 · 262 km S of this epicenter
- 6.2294 km W of Langlois, OregonSeptember 26, 1959 · 256 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.2283 km W of Bandon, OregonJune 5, 1926 · 244 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.1off the coast of OregonDecember 28, 1967 · 297 km W 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 · 61 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.