QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Yakima, WA

USGS: 10 km ENE of Nile, Washington

35 km (22 mi) NW of Yakima, WA · 145 km (90 mi) SE of Seattle, WA

8:54 am PDT, Jul 2, 2018 · · 2.5 km deep · released about 5.7 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Yakima Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kittitas County 32 kmYakima County 44 kmPierce County 105 kmKing County 105 kmKlickitat County 109 kmGrant County 109 kmChelan County 114 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
8:54 am PDT on 2 July 2018 ()
Where
36 km (22 mi) NW of Yakima, WA · earthquakes near Yakima
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
2.5 km below the surface
Felt
4 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Kittitas County, 32 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3009 days ago

A magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 36 km (22 mi) NW of Yakima, WA, at 8:54 am PDT on 2 July 2018 (15:54 UTC). 4 people have reported feeling it to USGS. This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Tieton, Ellensburg, Gleed.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.7 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.7 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 46.8482, -120.8088. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kittitas County, WA 32 km (20 mi) NNE earthquakes near Kittitas County
Yakima County, WA 44 km (27 mi) S earthquakes near Yakima County
Pierce County, WA 105 km (65 mi) WNW earthquakes near Pierce County
King County, WA 105 km (65 mi) NW earthquakes near King County
Klickitat County, WA 109 km (68 mi) S earthquakes near Klickitat County
Grant County, WA 109 km (68 mi) ENE earthquakes near Grant County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 7 km S of Ellensburg, Washington
  2. 1.8 8 km S of Ellensburg, Washington
  3. 1.7 2 km S of Selah, Washington
  4. 1.8 10 km NW of Tampico, Washington
  5. 2.4 17 km SW of Nile, Washington
  6. 1.6 Washington
  7. 1.7 7 km ESE of Kittitas, Washington
  8. 1.6 4 km WNW of Summitview, Washington
  9. 1.6 16 km N of Kittitas, Washington
  10. 1.7 1 km N of Tieton, Washington
  11. 1.9 Washington
  12. 1.6 2 km ENE of Selah, Washington
  13. 1.8 7 km WSW of Thorp, Washington
  14. 2.1 12 km SW of Nile, Washington
  15. 1.6 10 km SW of Nile, 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.