QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8ml

Earthquake near Waterville, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Waterville in the 24 hours to 7:55 pm PST (03:55 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 4 km (3 mi) NW, at 1:09 am PDT on 4 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Waterville

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) north-northeast of Waterville, WA, at 6:15 am PDT on 11 March 2018 (13:15 UTC), 7.6 km deep. 17 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 4 km NNE of Waterville, Washington

6:15 am PDT, Mar 11, 2018 · · 7.6 km deep · released about 430 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Douglas County 27 kmChelan County 47 kmGrant County 68 kmKittitas County 79 kmOkanogan County 98 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
6:15 am PDT on 11 March 2018 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) north-northeast of Waterville, WA · earthquakes near Waterville
Magnitude
M 2.8 (ml)
Depth
7.6 km below the surface
Felt
17 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Douglas County, 27 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3080 days ago

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 25 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Waterville, 5 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Entiat, Chelan, Manson.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 430 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 35,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 25,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.2× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 430 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 47.6880, -120.0437. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Douglas County, WA 27 km (17 mi) ENE earthquakes near Douglas County
Chelan County, WA 47 km (29 mi) WNW earthquakes near Chelan County
Grant County, WA 68 km (42 mi) SE earthquakes near Grant County
Kittitas County, WA 79 km (49 mi) SW earthquakes near Kittitas County
Okanogan County, WA 98 km (61 mi) NNE earthquakes near Okanogan County
Adams County, WA 138 km (86 mi) ESE earthquakes near Adams County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 6 km NNE of Entiat, Washington
  2. 1.6 10 km NW of Entiat, Washington
  3. 1.6 2 km SSE of Brewster, Washington
  4. 2.1 3 km E of Entiat, Washington
  5. 1.6 20 km SSE of Mansfield, Washington
  6. 1.6 4 km NNW of Entiat, Washington
  7. 1.6 8 km WNW of Entiat, Washington
  8. 1.7 4 km WNW of Waterville, Washington
  9. 1.7 9 km WNW of Entiat, Washington
  10. 1.5 Washington
  11. 1.9 9 km NW of Entiat, Washington
  12. 1.7 8 km W of Entiat, Washington
  13. 1.6 6 km WNW of Entiat, Washington
  14. 1.5 7 km N of Waterville, Washington
  15. 2.0 12 km WSW of Entiat, 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.