QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Carson, WA

USGS: 24 km NNW of Carson, Washington

71 km (44 mi) NE of Portland, OR

1:42 am PDT, Jul 8, 2017 · · 7.3 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Skamania County 11 kmClark County 46 kmHood River County 51 kmMultnomah County 57 kmCowlitz County 65 kmLewis County 80 kmClackamas County 88 kmColumbia County 89 kmKlickitat County 90 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
1:42 am PDT on 8 July 2017 ()
Where
24 km (15 mi) NNW of Carson, WA · earthquakes near Carson
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
7.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Skamania County, 11 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3373 days ago

A magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) NNW of Carson, WA, at 1:42 am PDT on 8 July 2017 (08:42 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Stevenson, Cascade Locks.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 970,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 86× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.7 38 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 37 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 37 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 37 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 28 km ENE of Amboy, Washington · 18 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 Washington · 38 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 38 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 37 km NNW 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 45.9283, -121.9337. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Skamania County, WA 11 km (7 mi) N earthquakes near Skamania County
Clark County, WA 46 km (29 mi) WSW earthquakes near Clark County
Hood River County, OR 51 km (32 mi) SSE earthquakes near Hood River County
Multnomah County, OR 57 km (35 mi) SW earthquakes near Multnomah County
Cowlitz County, WA 65 km (40 mi) WNW earthquakes near Cowlitz County
Lewis County, WA 80 km (50 mi) NNW earthquakes near Lewis County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.9 Washington-Oregon border region
  2. 1.6 4 km NE of Amboy, Washington
  3. 1.5 2 km W of Yacolt, Washington
  4. 1.6 3 km WSW of Yacolt, Washington
  5. 1.5 3 km SW of Yacolt, Washington
  6. 1.8 5 km NNW of White Salmon, Washington
  7. 1.7 13 km ESE of Yacolt, Washington
  8. 1.8 20 km NNW of Carson, Washington
  9. 1.8 24 km N of Amboy, Washington
  10. 1.5 2 km NNW of Venersborg, Washington
  11. 1.7 23 km NNE of Amboy, Washington
  12. 1.5 14 km ESE of Yacolt, Washington
  13. 1.6 16 km ESE of Yacolt, Washington
  14. 1.6 24 km NNW of Carson, Washington
  15. 1.6 10 km NW of White Salmon, 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.