explosion · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Aberdeen, WA
USGS: 16 km ENE of Willapa, Washington
55 km (34 mi) SW of Olympia, WA · 129 km (80 mi) SW of Seattle, WA
- When
- 2:02 pm PDT on 21 April 2017 ()
- Where
- 36 km (23 mi) SE of Aberdeen, WA · earthquakes near Aberdeen
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- -0.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Pacific County, 31 km SW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3445 days ago
A magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 36 km (23 mi) SE of Aberdeen, WA, at 2:02 pm PDT on 21 April 2017 (21:02 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Raymond, South Bend, Montesano, Elma.
USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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 lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.8 8 km N of Satsop, Washington · 37 km N of this epicentre
- 5.0 18 km N of Satsop, Washington · 47 km N of this epicentre
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 46.7435, -123.4798. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific County, WA | 31 km (19 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Pacific County |
| Grays Harbor County, WA | 49 km (30 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Grays Harbor County |
| Wahkiakum County, WA | 50 km (31 mi) | S | earthquakes near Wahkiakum County |
| Thurston County, WA | 54 km (33 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Thurston County |
| Mason County, WA | 71 km (44 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Mason County |
| Clatsop County, OR | 82 km (51 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Clatsop County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.6 8 km NW of Hoquiam, Washington
- 1.8 Olympic Peninsula, Washington
- 1.7 2 km N of Oakville, Washington
- 1.9 5 km SSE of Cosmopolis, Washington
- 1.6 12 km ENE of McCleary, Washington
- 1.8 4 km NNW of Skamokawa Valley, Washington
- 1.6 11 km S of Shelton, Washington
- 1.5 4 km N of McCleary, Washington
- 1.5 8 km WSW of Napavine, Washington
- 1.8 5 km NNW of Winlock, Washington
- 1.7 4 km ENE of Elma, Washington
- 1.6 1 km W of Winlock, Washington
- 1.8 6 km NW of Winlock, Washington
- 1.6 10 km ESE of Markham, Washington
- 1.9 3 km WNW of Winlock, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.