QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Warden, WA

USGS: 5 km SW of Warden, Washington

1:22 pm PDT, Aug 15, 2018 · · -0.4 km deep · released about 8.7 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Warden Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Grant County 42 kmAdams County 45 kmFranklin County 47 kmBenton County 85 kmLincoln County 88 kmWalla Walla County 89 kmDouglas County 100 kmColumbia County 115 kmWhitman County 118 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
1:22 pm PDT on 15 August 2018 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) SW of Warden, WA · earthquakes near Warden
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
-0.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Grant County, 42 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 559 days ago

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) SW of Warden, WA, at 1:22 pm PDT on 15 August 2018 (20:22 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Othello, Moses Lake, Cascade Valley.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 8.7 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 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.7 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 46.9392, -119.0942. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Grant County, WA 42 km (26 mi) NW earthquakes near Grant County
Adams County, WA 45 km (28 mi) E earthquakes near Adams County
Franklin County, WA 47 km (29 mi) SSE earthquakes near Franklin County
Benton County, WA 85 km (53 mi) SSW earthquakes near Benton County
Lincoln County, WA 88 km (55 mi) NE earthquakes near Lincoln County
Walla Walla County, WA 89 km (56 mi) SSE earthquakes near Walla Walla County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 10 km WSW of Hatton, Washington
  2. 1.7 5 km W of Warden, Washington
  3. 1.6 15 km SW of Odessa, Washington
  4. 1.5 24 km SSW of Odessa, Washington
  5. 2.1 12 km NW of Lind, Washington
  6. 1.9 5 km W of Warden, Washington
  7. 2.2 14 km NW of Othello, Washington
  8. 1.7 13 km N of Kahlotus, Washington
  9. 1.5 3 km WSW of Warden, Washington
  10. 1.9 1 km WNW of Warden, Washington
  11. 2.0 14 km ENE of Royal City, Washington
  12. 1.6 16 km WNW of Lind, Washington
  13. 2.1 13 km NW of Lind, Washington
  14. 2.1 12 km W of Moses Lake North, Washington
  15. 1.6 10 km SW of Othello, 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.