QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3ml

Earthquake near Sunnyside, WA

USGS: 15 km SE of Bickleton, Washington

7:31 pm PST, Feb 18, 2018 · · 18 km deep · released about 82 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Sunnyside Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Klickitat County 50 kmBenton County 59 kmGilliam County 60 kmMorrow County 69 kmSherman County 71 kmYakima County 76 kmUmatilla County 115 kmWasco County 116 kmFranklin County 117 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
7:31 pm PST on 18 February 2018 ()
Where
46 km (29 mi) SSW of Sunnyside, WA · earthquakes near Sunnyside
Magnitude
M 2.3 (ml)
Depth
18 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Klickitat County, 50 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3056 days ago

A magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 46 km (29 mi) SSW of Sunnyside, WA, at 7:31 pm PST on 18 February 2018 (03:31 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 82 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 12× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 82 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 45.9182, -120.1412. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Klickitat County, WA 50 km (31 mi) W earthquakes near Klickitat County
Benton County, WA 59 km (37 mi) NE earthquakes near Benton County
Gilliam County, OR 60 km (38 mi) S earthquakes near Gilliam County
Morrow County, OR 69 km (43 mi) SE earthquakes near Morrow County
Sherman County, OR 71 km (44 mi) SW earthquakes near Sherman County
Yakima County, WA 76 km (47 mi) NW earthquakes near Yakima 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. 1.8 17 km ENE of Roosevelt, Washington
  2. 1.8 6 km SW of Arlington, Oregon
  3. 2.2 19 km S of Arlington, Oregon
  4. 1.9 11 km S of Bickleton, Washington
  5. 1.7 5 km ENE of Prosser, Washington
  6. 1.9 13 km E of Goldendale, Washington
  7. 1.6 4 km ENE of Prosser, Washington
  8. 1.6 8 km SSW of Prosser, Washington
  9. 2.1 12 km SSW of Bickleton, Washington
  10. 1.6 17 km SE of Prosser, Washington
  11. 1.8 21 km WNW of Boardman, Oregon
  12. 1.5 13 km WNW of Roosevelt, Washington
  13. 3.0 21 km NW of Bickleton, Washington
  14. 2.4 14 km NNE of Roosevelt, Washington
  15. 2.4 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.