Reviewed by USGSWashington47y ago
M5.2 earthquake 37 km NNE of Amboy, Washington
Monday, April 14, 1980, 13:49:03 UTC · 46.203°N, 122.197°W
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 37 km NNE of Amboy, Washington on Monday, April 14, 1980, 13:49:03 UTC, at a depth of 0.5 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.7 on April 29, 1965.
- Magnitude
- 5.2
- Moderate · md
- Depth
- 1 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: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
951 tons of TNT
That is about 1/16 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 2 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
267 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Juan de Fuca and North American plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
1 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 lists 377 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.1 on April 20, 1980. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 3.638 km NNE of Amboy, Washington47y ago · 1 km E of this epicenter
- 4.238 km NNE of Amboy, Washington47y ago · 1 km E of this epicenter
- 3.438 km NNE of Amboy, Washington47y ago · 1 km E of this epicenter
- 3.638 km NNE of Amboy, Washington47y ago · 1 km E of this epicenter
- 3.937 km NNE of Amboy, Washington47y ago · 0 km SE of this epicenter
- 3.538 km S of Morton, Washington47y ago · 2 km NE of this epicenter
- 3.538 km NNE of Amboy, Washington47y ago · 1 km NE of this epicenter
- 4.639 km S of Morton, Washington47y ago · 2 km NE of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 23 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.74 km WNW of Roy, WashingtonApril 13, 1949 · 95 km N of this epicenter
- 6.71 km ENE of Dash Point, WashingtonApril 29, 1965 · 126 km N of this epicenter
- 6.1Puget Sound region, WashingtonNovember 13, 1939 · 140 km N of this epicenter
- 6.03 km SW of Garrett, WashingtonJuly 16, 1936 · 291 km E of this epicenter
- 5.8Puget Sound area, WashingtonFebruary 15, 1946 · 131 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 5 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 76 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1980M5.2
Mt St Helens
18 May 1980 · 1 km away · intensity V
61 deaths$2.0 billion damagetsunami
- 1949M7.0
Washington
13 Apr 1949 · 112 km away · intensity VIII
8 deaths$25 million damagetsunami
- 1965M6.6
Seattle
29 Apr 1965 · 133 km away · intensity VIII
7 deaths$28 million damage
- 1700M9.0
Cascadia Subduction Zone
27 Jan 1700 · 256 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1891
Puget Sound
29 Nov 1891 · 223 km away · intensity VII
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.