QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Sunnyslope, WA

USGS: 9 km NNE of Sunnyslope, Washington

2:38 pm PDT, Oct 6, 2016 · · -1.1 km deep · released about 6.2 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Chelan County 44 kmDouglas County 48 kmKittitas County 56 kmGrant County 71 kmKing County 118 kmOkanogan County 118 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
2:38 pm PDT on 6 October 2016 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) NNE of Sunnyslope, WA · earthquakes near Sunnyslope
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
-1.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Chelan County, 44 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3648 days ago

A magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) NNE of Sunnyslope, WA, at 2:38 pm PDT on 6 October 2016 (21:38 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: West Wenatchee, East Wenatchee Bench, Wenatchee, East Wenatchee, Entiat, Cashmere.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.2 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 6.2 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 47.5467, -120.2707. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Chelan County, WA 44 km (27 mi) NW earthquakes near Chelan County
Douglas County, WA 48 km (30 mi) ENE earthquakes near Douglas County
Kittitas County, WA 56 km (35 mi) SSW earthquakes near Kittitas County
Grant County, WA 71 km (44 mi) ESE earthquakes near Grant County
King County, WA 118 km (73 mi) W earthquakes near King County
Okanogan County, WA 118 km (73 mi) NNE earthquakes near Okanogan County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 9 km WNW of Entiat, Washington
  2. 1.8 11 km SSW of Cashmere, Washington
  3. 2.0 18 km W of Entiat, Washington
  4. 1.5 10 km WNW of Entiat, Washington
  5. 1.6 9 km WNW of Entiat, Washington
  6. 1.6 5 km SW of Chelan Falls, Washington
  7. 1.7 6 km NNE of Waterville, Washington
  8. 2.1 12 km NE of Sunnyslope, Washington
  9. 2.8 12 km NE of Sunnyslope, Washington
  10. 2.2 2 km N of Waterville, Washington
  11. 1.8 6 km N of Entiat, Washington
  12. 1.7 10 km NW of Quincy, Washington
  13. 1.5 2 km SE of Entiat, Washington
  14. 1.7 8 km WSW of Chelan Falls, Washington
  15. 1.6 5 km ENE of Entiat, 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.