QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Yakima, WA

USGS: 6 km WSW of Harrah, Washington

24 km (15 mi) SSW of Yakima, WA

9:25 am PST, Feb 19, 2019 · · 16 km deep · released about 5.7 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Yakima County 12 kmKlickitat County 58 kmKittitas County 83 kmBenton County 87 kmSherman County 109 kmSkamania County 109 kmGilliam 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
9:25 am PST on 19 February 2019 ()
Where
26 km (16 mi) SSW of Yakima, WA · earthquakes near Yakima
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
16 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Yakima County, 12 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
Toppenish Ridge structures, 9 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2782 days ago

A magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 26 km (16 mi) SSW of Yakima, WA, at 9:25 am PST on 19 February 2019 (17:25 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Wapato, Ahtanum, Union Gap, West Valley, Toppenish, Zillah.

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 46.3808, -120.6273. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Yakima County, WA 12 km (7 mi) NW earthquakes near Yakima County
Klickitat County, WA 58 km (36 mi) SSW earthquakes near Klickitat County
Kittitas County, WA 83 km (51 mi) N earthquakes near Kittitas County
Benton County, WA 87 km (54 mi) E earthquakes near Benton County
Sherman County, OR 109 km (68 mi) S earthquakes near Sherman County
Skamania County, WA 109 km (68 mi) WSW earthquakes near Skamania County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 11 km NNE of Selah, Washington
  2. 1.7 20 km S of White Swan, Washington
  3. 1.9 0 km SW of Selah, Washington
  4. 1.9 1 km SSW of Selah, Washington
  5. 1.5 7 km ESE of Tampico, Washington
  6. 1.5 4 km NNW of Summitview, Washington
  7. 2.3 17 km SW of Nile, Washington
  8. 1.8 19 km NW of Bickleton, Washington
  9. 1.6 27 km WSW of White Swan, Washington
  10. 1.7 14 km NE of Naches, Washington
  11. 1.9 5 km W of Summitview, Washington
  12. 2.6 5 km NNW of Naches, Washington
  13. 2.8 17 km SSE of White Swan, Washington
  14. 1.7 2 km S of Selah, Washington
  15. 1.8 10 km NW of Tampico, 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.