explosion · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.0ml
Earthquake near Walla Walla, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Walla Walla in the 24 hours to 10:50 pm PST (06:50 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 16 km (10 mi) S, at 10:01 am PDT on 25 April 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Walla Walla
No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 2.0 explosion was recorded 15 km (9 mi) north-northwest of Walla Walla, WA, at 1:06 pm PDT on 18 April 2016 (20:06 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: Washington
57 km (35 mi) E of Pasco, WA
- When
- 1:06 pm PDT on 18 April 2016 ()
- Where
- 15 km (9 mi) north-northwest of Walla Walla, WA · earthquakes near Walla Walla
- Magnitude
- M 2.0 (ml)
- Depth
- -0.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report
- Nearest
- Walla Walla County, 10 km NW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1563 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Walla Walla, WA
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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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 16 km (10 mi) from the epicentre. In Walla Walla, 15 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: Garrett, College Place, Walla Walla East, Waitsburg, Milton-Freewater.
USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 32 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 470,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 330,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 30× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.0 about 32 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 one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.0 3 km SW of Garrett, Washington · 19 km S 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 46.1957, -118.3857. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walla Walla County, WA | 10 km (6 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Walla Walla County |
| Columbia County, WA | 38 km (24 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Columbia County |
| Franklin County, WA | 55 km (34 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Franklin County |
| Garfield County, WA | 70 km (44 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Garfield County |
| Umatilla County, OR | 72 km (45 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Umatilla County |
| Benton County, WA | 87 km (54 mi) | W | earthquakes near Benton 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.
- 1.7 4 km N of Touchet, Washington
- 1.6 19 km SE of Walla Walla East, Washington
- 1.9 7 km WSW of Dayton, Washington
- 1.7 6 km E of Wallula, Washington
- 1.7 7 km ENE of Waitsburg, Washington
- 1.8 7 km ENE of Waitsburg, Washington
- 1.9 5 km NE of Dixie, Washington
- 1.8 5 km E of Waitsburg, Washington
- 2.1 2 km ENE of Milton-Freewater, Oregon
- 1.6 7 km WSW of Dayton, Washington
- 1.8 5 km SSE of Milton-Freewater, Oregon
- 2.1 2 km SE of Milton-Freewater, Oregon
- 1.9 7 km ENE of Waitsburg, Washington
- 2.1 2 km SW of Touchet, Washington
- 1.8 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.