Reviewed by USGSCalifornia21y ago
M3.0 earthquake 180 km WSW of Crescent City, California
Thursday, October 27, 2005, 09:27:25 UTC · 41.319°N, 126.282°W
A magnitude 3.0 earthquake struck 180 km WSW of Crescent City, California on Thursday, October 27, 2005, 09:27:25 UTC, at a depth of 5.1 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.0
- Minor · md
- Depth
- 5 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
477 kg of TNT
That is about 1/31,575 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1,000 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
89 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
5 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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M3.1 on November 10, 2005. 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 242 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 · 58 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2The 1992 Petrolia, California EarthquakeApril 25, 1992 · 204 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.2The 1980 Eureka, California EarthquakeNovember 8, 1980 · 171 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2153 km W of Big Lagoon, CaliforniaJune 15, 2005 · 28 km E of this epicenter
- 7.1The 1923 Humboldt County, California EarthquakeJanuary 22, 1923 · 140 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1121 km W of Ferndale, CaliforniaSeptember 1, 1994 · 114 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.0136 km WSW of Brookings, OregonAugust 17, 1991 · 53 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.9103 km W of Pistol River, OregonJuly 13, 1991 · 110 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 15 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 · 207 km away
1 death$2 million damage
- 1932M6.5
Eureka
6 Jun 1932 · 180 km away · intensity VIII
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1992M7.1
Humboldt County: Ferndale, Petrolia
25 Apr 1992 · 196 km away · intensity VIII
$75 million damagetsunami
- 1980M7.2
North Coast
8 Nov 1980 · 171 km away · intensity VII
$2 million damage
- 1991M6.2
Honeydew, Whitethorn, Petrolia
17 Aug 1991 · 203 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1994M5.5
Eureka, Samoa, Arcata, Blue Lake
26 Dec 1994 · 177 km away · intensity VII
$2 million damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.