QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Yakima, WA

USGS: 25 km NW of Bickleton, Washington

48 km (30 mi) S of Yakima, WA

11:33 pm PDT, Oct 13, 2017 · · 11 km deep · released about 7.3 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Yakima County 36 kmKlickitat County 38 kmBenton County 79 kmSherman County 86 kmGilliam County 89 kmKittitas County 107 kmMorrow County 109 kmSkamania County 110 kmHood River County 113 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
11:33 pm PDT on 13 October 2017 ()
Where
49 km (30 mi) S of Yakima, WA · earthquakes near Yakima
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Yakima County, 36 km NNW
Nearest mapped fault
Toppenish Ridge structures, 13 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 3275 days ago

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 49 km (30 mi) S of Yakima, WA, at 11:33 pm PDT on 13 October 2017 (06:33 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Toppenish.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.3 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.3 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 46.1637, -120.5357. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Yakima County, WA 36 km (22 mi) NNW earthquakes near Yakima County
Klickitat County, WA 38 km (23 mi) SSW earthquakes near Klickitat County
Benton County, WA 79 km (49 mi) E earthquakes near Benton County
Sherman County, OR 86 km (53 mi) S earthquakes near Sherman County
Gilliam County, OR 89 km (55 mi) SSE earthquakes near Gilliam County
Kittitas County, WA 107 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

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

  1. 3.1 5 km WSW of Harrah, Washington
  2. 1.7 20 km S of White Swan, Washington
  3. 1.7 1 km SSE of Goldendale, Washington
  4. 1.7 8 km N of Roosevelt, Washington
  5. 1.5 17 km NNE of Roosevelt, Washington
  6. 1.5 13 km NNE of Roosevelt, Washington
  7. 2.0 8 km SSE of Bickleton, Washington
  8. 1.5 7 km ESE of Tampico, Washington
  9. 1.8 19 km NW of Bickleton, Washington
  10. 1.6 27 km WSW of White Swan, Washington
  11. 2.0 3 km ESE of Goldendale, Washington
  12. 1.9 11 km S of Bickleton, Washington
  13. 1.9 13 km E of Goldendale, Washington
  14. 2.1 12 km SSW of Bickleton, Washington
  15. 2.8 17 km SSE of White Swan, 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.