QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

Earthquake near Ocean Shores, WA

USGS: 1 km SW of Taholah, Washington

11:58 pm PDT, Sep 4, 2016 · · 36 km deep · released about 20 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ocean Shores Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Grays Harbor County 44 kmJefferson County 78 kmMason County 85 kmClallam County 92 kmPacific County 95 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
11:58 pm PDT on 4 September 2016 ()
Where
42 km (26 mi) NNW of Ocean Shores, WA · earthquakes near Ocean Shores
Magnitude
M 1.9 (ml)
Depth
36 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Grays Harbor County, 44 km SE
Nearest mapped fault
Cascadia fold and fault belt, 4 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 558 days ago

A magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 42 km (26 mi) NNW of Ocean Shores, WA, at 11:58 pm PDT on 4 September 2016 (06:58 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 20 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 760,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 540,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 48× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 20 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 47.3368, -124.3068. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Grays Harbor County, WA 44 km (27 mi) SE earthquakes near Grays Harbor County
Jefferson County, WA 78 km (49 mi) NE earthquakes near Jefferson County
Mason County, WA 85 km (53 mi) E earthquakes near Mason County
Clallam County, WA 92 km (57 mi) NNE earthquakes near Clallam County
Pacific County, WA 95 km (59 mi) SSE earthquakes near Pacific County
Thurston County, WA 120 km (75 mi) ESE earthquakes near Thurston County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

52 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.6 5 km ESE of Humptulips, Washington
  2. 2.6 27 km NNE of Queets, Washington
  3. 1.8 1 km SSE of Oyehut, Washington
  4. 1.9 12 km NNW of Amanda Park, Washington
  5. 1.6 Olympic Peninsula, Washington
  6. 1.8 4 km N of Humptulips, Washington
  7. 2.6 8 km NW of Hoquiam, Washington
  8. 1.7 5 km WSW of Neilton, Washington
  9. 1.6 17 km N of Amanda Park, Washington
  10. 1.9 14 km NNW of Amanda Park, Washington
  11. 1.6 13 km N of Amanda Park, Washington
  12. 1.6 Olympic Peninsula, Washington
  13. 1.7 8 km W of Humptulips, Washington
  14. 2.0 14 km SE of Neilton, Washington
  15. 2.0 15 km N of Amanda Park, Washington

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.