QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0ml

Earthquake near Amboy, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Amboy in the 24 hours to 10:14 pm PST (06:14 UTC). The last one was M 1.6, 11 km (7 mi) S, at 4:25 pm PDT on 19 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Amboy

This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 29 km (18 mi) east-northeast of Amboy, WA, at 7:08 pm PDT on 27 May 2018 (02:08 UTC), 12 km deep. 40 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 28 km ENE of Amboy, Washington

70 km (43 mi) NE of Portland, OR · 58 km (36 mi) NE of Vancouver, WA

7:08 pm PDT, May 27, 2018 · · 12 km deep · released about 860 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Amboy Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Skamania County 14 kmClark County 41 kmCowlitz County 46 kmMultnomah County 60 kmLewis County 62 kmHood River County 70 kmColumbia County 75 kmWashington County 93 kmClackamas County 99 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
7:08 pm PDT on 27 May 2018 ()
Where
29 km (18 mi) east-northeast of Amboy, WA · earthquakes near Amboy
Magnitude
M 3.0 (ml)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
40 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Measured shaking
intensity II (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Skamania County, 14 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2999 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 33 km (21 mi) from the epicentre. In Amboy, 29 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Yacolt.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 860 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 390,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 18,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 12,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 860 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 16 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.7 38 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 19 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 37 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 18 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 23 km S of Morton, Washington · 35 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 28 km ENE of Amboy, Washington · 3 km S of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 Washington · 20 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 46.0455, -122.1278. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Skamania County, WA 14 km (8 mi) E earthquakes near Skamania County
Clark County, WA 41 km (26 mi) SW earthquakes near Clark County
Cowlitz County, WA 46 km (28 mi) WNW earthquakes near Cowlitz County
Multnomah County, OR 60 km (37 mi) SSW earthquakes near Multnomah County
Lewis County, WA 62 km (39 mi) NNW earthquakes near Lewis County
Hood River County, OR 70 km (43 mi) SSE earthquakes near Hood River County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 15 km ESE of Morton, Washington
  2. 1.7 20 km N of Amboy, Washington
  3. 1.5 28 km NNW of Amboy, Washington
  4. 2.9 Washington-Oregon border region
  5. 1.6 4 km NE of Amboy, Washington
  6. 1.5 2 km W of Yacolt, Washington
  7. 1.7 1 km NE of Lewisville, Washington
  8. 1.6 3 km WSW of Yacolt, Washington
  9. 1.6 14 km SSW of Morton, Washington
  10. 1.6 21 km SSE of Mossyrock, Washington
  11. 1.5 3 km SW of Yacolt, Washington
  12. 1.7 13 km ESE of Yacolt, Washington
  13. 1.8 20 km NNW of Carson, Washington
  14. 2.2 23 km S of Morton, Washington
  15. 1.6 16 km ENE of Kalama, 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.