QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Toppenish, WA

USGS: 29 km S of White Swan, Washington

55 km (34 mi) SSW of Yakima, WA · 149 km (92 mi) ENE of Gresham, OR

8:05 am PDT, Jun 11, 2016 · · 6.8 km deep · released about 8.4 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Klickitat County 28 kmYakima County 38 kmSherman County 80 kmGilliam County 89 kmSkamania County 94 kmBenton County 95 kmHood River County 98 kmWasco County 111 kmKittitas County 112 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
8:05 am PDT on 11 June 2016 ()
Where
44 km (27 mi) SW of Toppenish, WA · earthquakes near Toppenish
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
6.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Klickitat County, 28 km S
Nearest mapped fault
Toppenish Ridge structures, 17 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 558 days ago

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 44 km (27 mi) SW of Toppenish, WA, at 8:05 am PDT on 11 June 2016 (15:05 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 8.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.4 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 since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 46.1187, -120.7417. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Klickitat County, WA 28 km (17 mi) S earthquakes near Klickitat County
Yakima County, WA 38 km (23 mi) N earthquakes near Yakima County
Sherman County, OR 80 km (50 mi) S earthquakes near Sherman County
Gilliam County, OR 89 km (56 mi) SSE earthquakes near Gilliam County
Skamania County, WA 94 km (58 mi) W earthquakes near Skamania County
Benton County, WA 95 km (59 mi) E earthquakes near Benton 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. 3.1 5 km WSW of Harrah, Washington
  2. 1.7 20 km S of White Swan, Washington
  3. 1.7 1 km SSE of Goldendale, Washington
  4. 2.0 8 km SSE of Bickleton, Washington
  5. 1.5 7 km ESE of Tampico, Washington
  6. 1.8 19 km NW of Bickleton, Washington
  7. 1.6 27 km WSW of White Swan, Washington
  8. 2.0 3 km ESE of Goldendale, Washington
  9. 1.9 11 km S of Bickleton, Washington
  10. 1.9 13 km E of Goldendale, Washington
  11. 2.1 12 km SSW of Bickleton, Washington
  12. 2.8 17 km SSE of White Swan, Washington
  13. 1.6 16 km SSW of Harrah, Washington
  14. 1.8 1 km S of Goldendale, Washington
  15. 1.5 13 km WNW of Roosevelt, 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.