Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.4ml
Earthquake near Yakima, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Yakima in the 24 hours to 4:43 am PST (12:43 UTC). The last one was M 3.1, 25 km (15 mi) SSW, at 9:23 am PDT on 11 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 57 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Yakima
This page: a magnitude 3.4 earthquake was recorded 50 km (31 mi) south of Yakima, WA, at 12:04 pm PDT on 12 October 2017 (19:04 UTC), 13 km deep. 4 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 25 km NW of Bickleton, Washington
48 km (30 mi) S of Yakima, WA
- When
- 12:04 pm PDT on 12 October 2017 ()
- Where
- 50 km (31 mi) south of Yakima, WA · earthquakes near Yakima
- Magnitude
- M 3.4 (ml)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- 4 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Measured shaking
- intensity III (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Klickitat County, 37 km SSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Toppenish Ridge structures, 14 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 1610 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Yakima, WA
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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 57 km (35 mi) from the epicentre. In Yakima, 50 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.
Likely felt in: Yakima 50 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 2 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.4 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 83,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 3,700× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,600× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.4 about 2 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 4.3× more
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 46.1558, -120.5402. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Klickitat County, WA | 37 km (23 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Klickitat County |
| Yakima County, WA | 37 km (23 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Yakima County |
| Benton County, WA | 79 km (49 mi) | E | earthquakes near Benton County |
| Sherman County, OR | 85 km (53 mi) | S | earthquakes near Sherman County |
| Gilliam County, OR | 88 km (55 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Gilliam County |
| Kittitas County, WA | 108 km (67 mi) | N | earthquakes near Kittitas County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
48 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 17 km NNE of Roosevelt, Washington
- 1.5 13 km NNE of Roosevelt, Washington
- 2.0 8 km SSE of Bickleton, Washington
- 1.5 7 km ESE of Tampico, Washington
- 1.8 19 km NW of Bickleton, Washington
- 1.6 27 km WSW of White Swan, Washington
- 2.0 3 km ESE of Goldendale, Washington
- 1.9 11 km S of Bickleton, Washington
- 1.9 13 km E of Goldendale, Washington
- 2.1 12 km SSW of Bickleton, Washington
- 2.8 17 km SSE of White Swan, Washington
- 1.6 16 km SSW of Harrah, Washington
- 1.8 1 km S of Goldendale, Washington
- 1.5 13 km WNW of Roosevelt, Washington
- 3.0 21 km NW of Bickleton, 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
- 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.