explosion · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9ml
Earthquake near Selah, WA
USGS: 7 km ENE of Selah, Washington
13 km (8 mi) NE of Yakima, WA
- When
- 11:10 am PDT on 20 April 2018 ()
- Where
- 7 km (4 mi) ENE of Selah, WA · earthquakes near Selah
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (ml)
- Depth
- -0.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Yakima County, 34 km SW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3087 days ago
A magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) ENE of Selah, WA, at 11:10 am PDT on 20 April 2018 (18:10 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Terrace Heights, Yakima, Gleed, Union Gap, West Valley, Ahtanum.
USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 18 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 840,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 600,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 53× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 18 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 46.6850, -120.4502. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yakima County, WA | 34 km (21 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Yakima County |
| Kittitas County, WA | 52 km (32 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Kittitas County |
| Benton County, WA | 88 km (55 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Benton County |
| Klickitat County, WA | 94 km (58 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Klickitat County |
| Grant County, WA | 95 km (59 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Grant County |
| Franklin County, WA | 119 km (74 mi) | E | earthquakes near Franklin County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
55 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 5 km S of Ellensburg, Washington
- 1.9 7 km S of Ellensburg, Washington
- 1.8 8 km S of Ellensburg, Washington
- 1.7 2 km S of Selah, Washington
- 1.8 10 km NW of Tampico, Washington
- 1.6 Washington
- 1.7 7 km ESE of Kittitas, Washington
- 1.6 4 km WNW of Summitview, Washington
- 1.7 1 km N of Tieton, Washington
- 1.9 Washington
- 1.6 2 km ENE of Selah, Washington
- 1.8 7 km WSW of Thorp, Washington
- 1.6 16 km SSW of Harrah, Washington
- 1.5 3 km ESE of Selah, Washington
- 1.7 3 km E of Selah, 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.