QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Morton, WA

USGS: 17 km S of Morton, Washington

6:19 am PDT, Jul 22, 2018 · · 11 km deep · released about 14 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lewis County 21 kmCowlitz County 38 kmSkamania County 49 kmClark County 72 kmThurston County 72 kmPierce County 73 kmColumbia County 80 kmWahkiakum County 88 kmMultnomah County 96 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
6:19 am PDT on 22 July 2018 ()
Where
17 km (11 mi) S of Morton, WA · earthquakes near Morton
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lewis County, 21 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2992 days ago

A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 17 km (11 mi) S of Morton, WA, at 6:19 am PDT on 22 July 2018 (13:19 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 14 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 790,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 70× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 14 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 · 23 km SSE of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 37 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 23 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 23 km S of Morton, Washington · 7 km SSE of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 28 km ENE of Amboy, Washington · 44 km SSE of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 Washington · 22 km SSE 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 46.4043, -122.2855. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lewis County, WA 21 km (13 mi) NNW earthquakes near Lewis County
Cowlitz County, WA 38 km (24 mi) SW earthquakes near Cowlitz County
Skamania County, WA 49 km (31 mi) SSE earthquakes near Skamania County
Clark County, WA 72 km (45 mi) SSW earthquakes near Clark County
Thurston County, WA 72 km (45 mi) NW earthquakes near Thurston County
Pierce County, WA 73 km (45 mi) N earthquakes near Pierce County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 14 km SSW of Morton, Washington
  2. 1.6 21 km SSE of Mossyrock, Washington
  3. 1.8 9 km S of Toledo, Washington
  4. 1.6 9 km SSE of Toledo, Washington
  5. 1.6 12 km SSE of Toledo, Washington
  6. 1.8 8 km E of Ashford, Washington
  7. 1.6 4 km W of Mossyrock, Washington
  8. 1.6 6 km SSW of Morton, Washington
  9. 1.6 6 km ESE of Ashford, Washington
  10. 2.2 23 km S of Morton, Washington
  11. 1.6 16 km ENE of Kalama, Washington
  12. 1.5 6 km SE of Onalaska, Washington
  13. 2.6 8 km E of Ashford, Washington
  14. 1.8 23 km SSE of Mossyrock, Washington
  15. 1.8 24 km N of Amboy, 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.