QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near Ridgefield, WA

USGS: 4 km SE of Ridgefield, Washington

27 km (17 mi) N of Portland, OR · 18 km (11 mi) NNW of Vancouver, WA

10:24 pm PST, Nov 11, 2018 · · 18 km deep · released about 26 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Clark County 17 kmColumbia County 34 kmMultnomah County 34 kmWashington County 39 kmCowlitz County 46 kmSkamania County 64 kmYamhill County 76 kmClackamas County 80 kmWahkiakum County 80 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
10:24 pm PST on 11 November 2018 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) SE of Ridgefield, WA · earthquakes near Ridgefield
Magnitude
M 2.0 (ml)
Depth
18 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Clark County, 17 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2802 days ago

A magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) SE of Ridgefield, WA, at 10:24 pm PST on 11 November 2018 (06:24 UTC). 1 person has 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: Mount Vista, Felida, Dollar Corner, Salmon Creek, La Center, Lake Shore.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 26 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 580,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 410,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 36× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 26 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 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.2 5 km E of Bridgeton, Oregon · 22 km SSE of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 3 km SW of Portland, Oregon · 31 km S 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 45.7797, -122.7073. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Clark County, WA 17 km (11 mi) E earthquakes near Clark County
Columbia County, OR 34 km (21 mi) WNW earthquakes near Columbia County
Multnomah County, OR 34 km (21 mi) SE earthquakes near Multnomah County
Washington County, OR 39 km (24 mi) SW earthquakes near Washington County
Cowlitz County, WA 46 km (29 mi) N earthquakes near Cowlitz County
Skamania County, WA 64 km (40 mi) ENE earthquakes near Skamania County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 2 km SW of Tualatin, Oregon
  2. 1.7 4 km SE of Kalama, Washington
  3. 1.6 2 km WNW of Kalama, Washington
  4. 1.6 4 km NE of Amboy, Washington
  5. 2.0 Washington-Oregon border region
  6. 1.6 11 km NE of Vernonia, Oregon
  7. 1.9 3 km E of Sherwood, Oregon
  8. 1.8 0 km E of Sherwood, Oregon
  9. 1.5 2 km W of Yacolt, Washington
  10. 2.5 16 km NE of Kalama, Washington
  11. 1.7 1 km NE of Lewisville, Washington
  12. 1.7 3 km SW of Tualatin, Oregon
  13. 1.6 3 km N of West Haven, Oregon
  14. 1.8 2 km NE of Deer Island, Oregon
  15. 1.6 3 km WSW of Yacolt, 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.