QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

Earthquake near Amboy, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Amboy in the 24 hours to 7:23 am PST (15:23 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 1.9 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) northeast of Amboy, WA, at 8:00 am PST on 8 February 2021 (16:00 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 23 km NE of Amboy, Washington

66 km (41 mi) NNE of Portland, OR · 54 km (34 mi) NNE of Vancouver, WA

8:00 am PST, Feb 8, 2021 · · 0.6 km deep · released about 20 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Skamania County 20 kmClark County 37 kmCowlitz County 40 kmMultnomah County 58 kmLewis County 61 kmColumbia County 68 kmHood River County 73 kmWashington County 88 kmWahkiakum County 97 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
8:00 am PST on 8 February 2021 ()
Where
24 km (15 mi) northeast of Amboy, WA · earthquakes near Amboy
Magnitude
M 1.9 (ml)
Depth
0.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Skamania County, 20 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2104 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Amboy, 24 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 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 lists 16 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.7 38 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 18 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 37 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 17 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 23 km S of Morton, Washington · 34 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 28 km ENE of Amboy, Washington · 7 km ESE 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 46.0468, -122.2115. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Skamania County, WA 20 km (12 mi) E earthquakes near Skamania County
Clark County, WA 37 km (23 mi) SW earthquakes near Clark County
Cowlitz County, WA 40 km (25 mi) WNW earthquakes near Cowlitz County
Multnomah County, OR 58 km (36 mi) SSW earthquakes near Multnomah County
Lewis County, WA 61 km (38 mi) NNW earthquakes near Lewis County
Columbia County, OR 68 km (42 mi) W earthquakes near Columbia County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 3 km SW of Yacolt, Washington
  2. 1.7 39 km NNE of Amboy, Washington
  3. 1.6 3 km WSW of Yacolt, Washington
  4. 1.7 4 km WSW of Yacolt, Washington
  5. 2.4 Washington
  6. 1.5 26 km S of Morton, Washington
  7. 2.4 30 km ENE of Amboy, Washington
  8. 2.4 29 km ENE of Amboy, Washington
  9. 1.6 31 km NNE of Amboy, Washington
  10. 1.6 10 km SSE of Mossyrock, Washington
  11. 1.6 3 km E of Battle Ground, Washington
  12. 1.7 3 km NNE of La Center, Washington
  13. 1.7 23 km S of Morton, Washington
  14. 2.0 19 km N of Amboy, Washington
  15. 1.5 37 km NNE of Amboy, 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.