Reviewed by USGSOregon18y ago
M3.9 earthquake 254 km W of Bandon, Oregon
Wednesday, January 16, 2008, 17:54:43 UTC · 43.391°N, 127.515°W
A magnitude 3.9 earthquake struck 254 km W of Bandon, Oregon on Wednesday, January 16, 2008, 17:54:43 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.9
- Minor · mb
- Depth
- 10 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
11 tons of TNT
That is about 1/1,410 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 45 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
0 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 50 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M2.6 on January 19, 2008. 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 195 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 · 291 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.2153 km W of Big Lagoon, CaliforniaJune 15, 2005 · 266 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.0136 km WSW of Brookings, OregonAugust 17, 1991 · 234 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.9103 km W of Pistol River, OregonJuly 13, 1991 · 204 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.8off the coast of Northern CaliforniaJuly 6, 1934 · 296 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.5259 km W of Bandon, OregonMarch 13, 1985 · 14 km N of this epicenter
- 6.5235 km W of Port Orford, OregonAugust 5, 1910 · 70 km S of this epicenter
- 6.4213 km W of Port Orford, OregonAugust 20, 1952 · 67 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 2 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 · 269 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 2005M7.2
Off Coast Northern
15 Jun 2005 · 265 km away · intensity IV
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.