QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Spokane, WA

USGS: 7 km N of Fairwood, Washington

18 km (11 mi) N of Spokane, WA

12:34 pm PDT, Jun 18, 2018 · · -0.6 km deep · released about 7.1 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Spokane County 23 kmKootenai County 57 kmStevens County 70 kmLincoln County 80 kmBonner County 80 kmPend Oreille County 81 kmBenewah County 90 kmWhitman County 103 kmFerry County 109 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
12:34 pm PDT on 18 June 2018 ()
Where
19 km (12 mi) N of Spokane, WA · earthquakes near Spokane
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
-0.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Spokane County, 23 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3027 days ago

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 19 km (12 mi) N of Spokane, WA, at 12:34 pm PDT on 18 June 2018 (19:34 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Mead, Country Homes, Town and Country, Deer Park, Millwood, Spokane Valley.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.1 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 7.1 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 47.8303, -117.4165. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Spokane County, WA 23 km (15 mi) S earthquakes near Spokane County
Kootenai County, ID 57 km (35 mi) ESE earthquakes near Kootenai County
Stevens County, WA 70 km (44 mi) NNW earthquakes near Stevens County
Lincoln County, WA 80 km (50 mi) WSW earthquakes near Lincoln County
Bonner County, ID 80 km (50 mi) NE earthquakes near Bonner County
Pend Oreille County, WA 81 km (50 mi) N earthquakes near Pend Oreille County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 6 km ESE of Spangle, Washington
  2. 1.8 7 km WSW of Newport, Washington
  3. 1.5 8 km ENE of Four Lakes, Washington
  4. 1.6 7 km WNW of Rockford Bay, Idaho
  5. 2.1 4 km E of Four Lakes, Washington
  6. 1.9 2 km NE of Fairwood, Washington
  7. 2.7 Washington
  8. 1.7 6 km E of Four Lakes, Washington
  9. 1.9 3 km NW of Mead, Washington
  10. 1.6 5 km E of Four Lakes, Washington
  11. 1.9 8 km NW of Rockford Bay, Idaho
  12. 1.9 2 km NNW of Mead, Washington
  13. 2.9 8 km NNE of Airway Heights, Washington
  14. 1.6 8 km NNE of Airway Heights, Washington
  15. 1.6 17 km NNW of Airway Heights, 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.