QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7ml

Earthquake near Yakima, WA

USGS: 16 km SW of Nile, Washington

41 km (26 mi) WNW of Yakima, WA · 141 km (87 mi) SE of Seattle, WA

6:00 am PDT, Apr 2, 2019 · · 4.2 km deep · released about 320 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Yakima County 37 kmKittitas County 55 kmPierce County 91 kmKlickitat County 95 kmLewis County 101 kmSkamania County 102 kmKing County 105 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
6:00 am PDT on 2 April 2019 ()
Where
44 km (27 mi) WNW of Yakima, WA · earthquakes near Yakima
Magnitude
M 2.7 (ml)
Depth
4.2 km below the surface
Felt
6 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Yakima County, 37 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2663 days ago

A magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 44 km (27 mi) WNW of Yakima, WA, at 6:00 am PDT on 2 April 2019 (13:00 UTC). 6 people have reported feeling it to USGS. This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Tieton.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 320 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 48,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 34,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 320 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 one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.0 23 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 32 km SW 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 46.7035, -121.0665. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Yakima County, WA 37 km (23 mi) SE earthquakes near Yakima County
Kittitas County, WA 55 km (34 mi) NNE earthquakes near Kittitas County
Pierce County, WA 91 km (57 mi) WNW earthquakes near Pierce County
Klickitat County, WA 95 km (59 mi) SSE earthquakes near Klickitat County
Lewis County, WA 101 km (63 mi) W earthquakes near Lewis County
Skamania County, WA 102 km (63 mi) SW 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. 2.1 9 km SSW of Ellensburg, Washington
  2. 1.6 24 km NNE of Packwood, Washington
  3. 1.5 9 km S of Ellensburg, Washington
  4. 1.7 9 km S of Ellensburg, Washington
  5. 1.6 27 km WSW of White Swan, Washington
  6. 1.6 8 km SSE of Ellensburg, Washington
  7. 2.1 19 km NE of Packwood, Washington
  8. 3.1 19 km NE of Packwood, Washington
  9. 1.7 14 km NE of Naches, Washington
  10. 1.9 5 km W of Summitview, Washington
  11. 1.5 13 km SW of Ellensburg, Washington
  12. 1.6 6 km S of Ellensburg, Washington
  13. 2.6 5 km NNW of Naches, Washington
  14. 1.7 5 km S of Ellensburg, Washington
  15. 1.9 7 km S of Ellensburg, 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.