QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Aberdeen, WA

USGS: 9 km E of Markham, Washington

2:09 pm PDT, Jul 29, 2019 · · -0.1 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Aberdeen Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Grays Harbor County 24 kmPacific County 39 kmMason County 73 kmWahkiakum County 75 kmThurston County 80 kmClatsop County 98 kmJefferson County 104 kmLewis County 120 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
2:09 pm PDT on 29 July 2019 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) SSW of Aberdeen, WA · earthquakes near Aberdeen
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
-0.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Grays Harbor County, 24 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Cascadia fold and fault belt, 16 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 2621 days ago

A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) SSW of Aberdeen, WA, at 2:09 pm PDT on 29 July 2019 (21:09 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Hoquiam, Cosmopolis, Central Park, Westport, Montesano, Ocean Shores.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 15 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 63× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 8 km N of Satsop, Washington · 37 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 Olympic Peninsula, Washington · 49 km NE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 18 km N of Satsop, Washington · 41 km NE 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 46.8980, -123.8768. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Grays Harbor County, WA 24 km (15 mi) N earthquakes near Grays Harbor County
Pacific County, WA 39 km (24 mi) S earthquakes near Pacific County
Mason County, WA 73 km (46 mi) NE earthquakes near Mason County
Wahkiakum County, WA 75 km (47 mi) SSE earthquakes near Wahkiakum County
Thurston County, WA 80 km (49 mi) E earthquakes near Thurston County
Clatsop County, OR 98 km (61 mi) S earthquakes near Clatsop County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 12 km SSE of Cosmopolis, Washington
  2. 1.6 0 km S of Pacific Beach, Washington
  3. 1.9 8 km NW of Aberdeen Gardens, Washington
  4. 1.7 11 km S of Humptulips, Washington
  5. 2.0 9 km SSW of Humptulips, Washington
  6. 1.5 17 km NNW of Pe Ell, Washington
  7. 2.0 14 km SSE of Cosmopolis, Washington
  8. 1.7 12 km SSE of Cosmopolis, Washington
  9. 1.6 15 km N of Satsop, Washington
  10. 1.8 5 km WSW of Aberdeen Gardens, Washington
  11. 1.6 2 km ENE of Humptulips, Washington
  12. 1.6 2 km NNE of Raymond, Washington
  13. 1.8 11 km ENE of Copalis Beach, Washington
  14. 1.5 17 km SSE of Montesano, Washington
  15. 1.5 8 km SSW of Cosmopolis, 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.