QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Colfax, WA

USGS: 7 km E of Colfax, Washington

87 km (54 mi) S of Spokane, WA

10:20 am PDT, Mar 20, 2017 · · 2.6 km deep · released about 6.4 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Colfax Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Whitman County 20 kmLatah County 42 kmGarfield County 55 kmBenewah County 61 kmNez Perce County 73 kmAsotin County 79 kmSpokane County 82 kmColumbia County 82 kmAdams County 95 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
10:20 am PDT on 20 March 2017 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) E of Colfax, WA · earthquakes near Colfax
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
2.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Whitman County, 20 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3483 days ago

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) E of Colfax, WA, at 10:20 am PDT on 20 March 2017 (17:20 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Palouse, Pullman, Moscow.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.4 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 2,400,000× 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 1.6 about 6.4 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 46.8890, -117.2715. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Whitman County, WA 20 km (13 mi) W earthquakes near Whitman County
Latah County, ID 42 km (26 mi) E earthquakes near Latah County
Garfield County, WA 55 km (34 mi) SSW earthquakes near Garfield County
Benewah County, ID 61 km (38 mi) NE earthquakes near Benewah County
Nez Perce County, ID 73 km (45 mi) SSE earthquakes near Nez Perce County
Asotin County, WA 79 km (49 mi) S earthquakes near Asotin County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 7 km SSW of Tekoa, Washington
  2. 2.3 5 km SSW of Moscow, Idaho
  3. 1.7 6 km WSW of Troy, Idaho
  4. 1.6 8 km SSE of Pullman, Washington
  5. 2.2 8 km SW of Potlatch, Idaho
  6. 1.8 14 km E of Pomeroy, Washington
  7. 1.6 10 km ESE of Moscow, Idaho
  8. 2.1 6 km N of Onaway, Idaho
  9. 2.1 5 km NNE of Pullman, Washington
  10. 2.0 2 km NE of Colfax, Washington
  11. 1.9 8 km SSE of Pullman, Washington
  12. 2.3 3 km ESE of Pullman, Washington
  13. 1.8 8 km W of Troy, Idaho
  14. 1.6 6 km WSW of Troy, Idaho
  15. 1.6 5 km WNW of Genesee, Idaho

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.