Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7ml
Earthquake near Amboy, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Amboy in the 24 hours to 3:58 am PST (11:58 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 1.7 earthquake was recorded 27 km (17 mi) north of Amboy, WA, at 8:42 am PDT on 29 October 2021 (15:42 UTC), 15 km deep.
USGS: 26 km N of Amboy, Washington
70 km (43 mi) NNE of Portland, OR · 58 km (36 mi) N of Vancouver, WA
- When
- 8:42 am PDT on 29 October 2021 ()
- Where
- 27 km (17 mi) north of Amboy, WA · earthquakes near Amboy
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 15 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Cowlitz County, 18 km WNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1838 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Amboy, WA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Amboy, WA. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Amboy, 27 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 9.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,600,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 99× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 9.6 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:
- 5.7 38 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 22 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.2 37 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 21 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.2 23 km S of Morton, Washington · 28 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.1 28 km ENE of Amboy, Washington · 30 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.1 Washington · 24 km ENE 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 46.1502, -122.4593. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cowlitz County, WA | 18 km (11 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Cowlitz County |
| Skamania County, WA | 41 km (26 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Skamania County |
| Clark County, WA | 42 km (26 mi) | S | earthquakes near Clark County |
| Lewis County, WA | 48 km (30 mi) | N | earthquakes near Lewis County |
| Columbia County, OR | 53 km (33 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Columbia County |
| Multnomah County, OR | 67 km (42 mi) | S | earthquakes near Multnomah County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
53 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 4 km WSW of Yacolt, Washington
- 2.4 Washington
- 1.8 11 km SSE of Toledo, Washington
- 1.5 26 km S of Morton, Washington
- 2.4 30 km ENE of Amboy, Washington
- 2.4 29 km ENE of Amboy, Washington
- 1.6 31 km NNE of Amboy, Washington
- 1.8 7 km WSW of Morton, Washington
- 2.7 7 km WSW of Morton, Washington
- 1.5 6 km ENE of Prescott, Oregon
- 1.7 7 km ENE of Prescott, Oregon
- 1.6 10 km SSE of Mossyrock, Washington
- 1.6 3 km E of Battle Ground, Washington
- 1.7 3 km NNE of La Center, Washington
- 1.7 23 km S of Morton, 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.