QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Battle Ground, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Battle Ground in the 24 hours to 12:16 am PST (08:16 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 28 km (17 mi) WNW, at 7:25 am PDT on 22 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 113 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Battle Ground

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 44 km (28 mi) northeast of Battle Ground, WA, at 12:49 am PDT on 3 May 2018 (07:49 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 30 km ENE of Amboy, Washington

71 km (44 mi) NE of Portland, OR · 60 km (37 mi) NE of Vancouver, WA

12:49 am PDT, May 3, 2018 · · 11 km deep · released about 10 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Skamania County 13 kmClark County 43 kmCowlitz County 46 kmMultnomah County 61 kmLewis County 62 kmHood River County 70 kmColumbia County 76 kmWashington County 94 kmClackamas County 100 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
12:49 am PDT on 3 May 2018 ()
Where
44 km (28 mi) northeast of Battle Ground, WA · earthquakes near Battle Ground
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Skamania County, 13 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3116 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Battle Ground, 44 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 10 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 95× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 10 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 lists 16 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.7 38 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 18 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 37 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 17 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 23 km S of Morton, Washington · 34 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 28 km ENE of Amboy, Washington · 4 km S of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 Washington · 19 km NNW of this epicentre

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 46.0558, -122.1173. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Skamania County, WA 13 km (8 mi) ESE earthquakes near Skamania County
Clark County, WA 43 km (26 mi) SW earthquakes near Clark County
Cowlitz County, WA 46 km (29 mi) WNW earthquakes near Cowlitz County
Multnomah County, OR 61 km (38 mi) SSW earthquakes near Multnomah County
Lewis County, WA 62 km (38 mi) NNW earthquakes near Lewis County
Hood River County, OR 70 km (44 mi) SSE earthquakes near Hood River County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 28 km NNW of Amboy, Washington
  2. 2.9 Washington-Oregon border region
  3. 1.6 4 km NE of Amboy, Washington
  4. 1.5 2 km W of Yacolt, Washington
  5. 1.7 1 km NE of Lewisville, Washington
  6. 1.6 3 km WSW of Yacolt, Washington
  7. 1.6 14 km SSW of Morton, Washington
  8. 1.6 21 km SSE of Mossyrock, Washington
  9. 1.5 3 km SW of Yacolt, Washington
  10. 1.7 13 km ESE of Yacolt, Washington
  11. 1.8 20 km NNW of Carson, Washington
  12. 2.2 23 km S of Morton, Washington
  13. 1.6 16 km ENE of Kalama, Washington
  14. 1.6 1 km SSW of Cherry Grove, Washington
  15. 1.8 23 km SSE of Mossyrock, 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.