Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9ml
Earthquake near Pendleton, OR
No earthquake was likely felt in Pendleton in the 24 hours to 7:21 am PST (15:21 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 3 km (2 mi) W, at 2:48 pm PDT on 10 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Pendleton
This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 17 km (11 mi) east-northeast of Pendleton, OR, at 1:55 pm PST on 15 February 2017 (21:55 UTC), 7.0 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 3 km WSW of Adams, Oregon
- When
- 1:55 pm PST on 15 February 2017 ()
- Where
- 17 km (11 mi) east-northeast of Pendleton, OR · earthquakes near Pendleton
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 7.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Measured shaking
- intensity II (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Umatilla County, 21 km SSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Wallula fault system, 16 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 3472 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Pendleton, OR
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Pendleton, OR. 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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 29 km (18 mi) from the epicentre. In Pendleton, 17 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: Athena, Mission, Milton-Freewater.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 570 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 27,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 19,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.7× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 570 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 · 34 km NNE 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 45.7528, -118.5953. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Umatilla County, OR | 21 km (13 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Umatilla County |
| Walla Walla County, WA | 56 km (35 mi) | N | earthquakes near Walla Walla County |
| Union County, OR | 68 km (42 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Union County |
| Columbia County, WA | 80 km (50 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Columbia County |
| Morrow County, OR | 86 km (54 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Morrow County |
| Benton County, WA | 89 km (55 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Benton County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
45 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 8 km N of Helix, Oregon
- 1.9 9 km WNW of Touchet, Washington
- 1.8 4 km NNW of Pendleton, Oregon
- 1.6 11 km E of Milton-Freewater, Oregon
- 1.7 11 km E of Milton-Freewater, Oregon
- 2.0 4 km ESE of Milton-Freewater, Oregon
- 1.7 4 km N of Touchet, Washington
- 1.6 19 km SE of Walla Walla East, Washington
- 1.7 6 km E of Wallula, Washington
- 1.7 9 km ESE of Echo, Oregon
- 2.1 2 km ENE of Milton-Freewater, Oregon
- 1.9 3 km WNW of Pendleton, Oregon
- 1.8 5 km SSE of Milton-Freewater, Oregon
- 1.6 11 km W of Pendleton, Oregon
- 2.1 2 km SE of Milton-Freewater, Oregon
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.