Reviewed by USGSWashington47y ago
M3.5 earthquake 38 km S of Morton, Washington
Wednesday, May 14, 1980, 03:25:56 UTC · 46.221°N, 122.184°W
A magnitude 3.5 earthquake struck 38 km S of Morton, Washington on Wednesday, May 14, 1980, 03:25:56 UTC, at a depth of -1.3 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.5
- Minor · 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: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
3 tons of TNT
That is about 1/5,615 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 178 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
268 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 50 km
USGS lists 170 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.7 on May 18, 1980. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 2.526 km S of Morton, Washington46y ago · 12 km N of this epicenter
- 2.523 km SSE of Morton, Washington46y ago · 15 km N of this epicenter
- 2.624 km S of Morton, Washington47y ago · 14 km N of this epicenter
- 4.025 km SSE of Morton, Washington47y ago · 13 km N of this epicenter
- 4.1Washington47y ago · 13 km N of this epicenter
- 2.7Washington47y ago · 12 km N of this epicenter
- 2.633 km S of Morton, Washington47y ago · 7 km NW of this epicenter
- 2.537 km NNE of Amboy, Washington47y ago · 3 km SW of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 31 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 · 94 km N of this epicenter
- 6.71 km ENE of Dash Point, WashingtonApril 29, 1965 · 124 km N of this epicenter
- 6.1Puget Sound region, WashingtonNovember 13, 1939 · 138 km N of this epicenter
- 6.03 km SW of Garrett, WashingtonJuly 16, 1936 · 290 km E of this epicenter
- 5.8Puget Sound area, WashingtonFebruary 15, 1946 · 130 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 · 110 km away · intensity VIII
8 deaths$25 million damagetsunami
- 1965M6.6
Seattle
29 Apr 1965 · 131 km away · intensity VIII
7 deaths$28 million damage
- 1700M9.0
Cascadia Subduction Zone
27 Jan 1700 · 258 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1891
Puget Sound
29 Nov 1891 · 221 km away · intensity VII
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.