Reviewed by USGSWashington25y ago
M2.8 earthquake 12 km SE of Bucoda, Washington
Wednesday, March 21, 2001, 23:05:24 UTC · 46.710°N, 122.772°W
A magnitude 2.8 earthquake struck 12 km SE of Bucoda, Washington on Wednesday, March 21, 2001, 23:05:24 UTC, at a depth of -0.7 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 2.8
- 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
239 kg of TNT
That is about 1/63,000 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1,995 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
233 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 24 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M3.4 on April 4, 2001. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 3.012 km SE of Bucoda, Washington25y ago · 1 km NE of this epicenter
- 2.812 km SE of Bucoda, Washington25y ago · 1 km E of this epicenter
- 3.213 km SE of Bucoda, Washington25y ago · 2 km E of this epicenter
- 3.112 km SE of Bucoda, Washington25y ago · 0 km SW of this epicenter
- 2.6Washington25y ago · 1 km W of this epicenter
- 3.213 km SSE of Bucoda, Washington25y ago · 2 km SW of this epicenter
- 2.612 km SE of Bucoda, Washington25y ago · 0 km N of this epicenter
- 3.07 km SE of Bucoda, Washington25y ago · 5 km NW of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 40 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.8The 2001 Nisqually, Washington EarthquakeFebruary 28, 2001 · 49 km N of this epicenter
- 6.74 km WNW of Roy, WashingtonApril 13, 1949 · 36 km N of this epicenter
- 6.71 km ENE of Dash Point, WashingtonApril 29, 1965 · 74 km N of this epicenter
- 6.1Puget Sound region, WashingtonNovember 13, 1939 · 77 km N of this epicenter
- 6.0119 km SSW of Ucluelet, CanadaSeptember 17, 1926 · 299 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.88 km N of Satsop, WashingtonJuly 3, 1999 · 66 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.8Puget Sound area, WashingtonFebruary 15, 1946 · 64 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 7 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 77 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1980M5.2
Mt St Helens
18 May 1980 · 71 km away · intensity V
61 deaths$2.0 billion damagetsunami
- 1949M7.0
Washington
13 Apr 1949 · 52 km away · intensity VIII
8 deaths$25 million damagetsunami
- 1965M6.6
Seattle
29 Apr 1965 · 85 km away · intensity VIII
7 deaths$28 million damage
- 2001M6.8
Olympia, Seattle, Tacoma
28 Feb 2001 · 49 km away · intensity VIII
1 death$2.0 billion damage
- 1993M5.6
Washington-Oregon Border
25 Mar 1993 · 187 km away · intensity VII
$28 million damage
- 1700M9.0
Cascadia Subduction Zone
27 Jan 1700 · 257 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.