explosion · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near White Salmon, WA
USGS: 8 km N of White Salmon, Washington
96 km (59 mi) ENE of Portland, OR
- When
- 1:05 pm PDT on 16 May 2019 ()
- Where
- 9 km (6 mi) N of White Salmon, WA · earthquakes near White Salmon
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- -1.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Hood River County, 36 km SSW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2695 days ago
A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) N of White Salmon, WA, at 1:05 pm PDT on 16 May 2019 (20:05 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Hood River, Odell, Chenoweth, Carson.
USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 8.1 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,900,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.1 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 45.8085, -121.4835. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hood River County, OR | 36 km (22 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Hood River County |
| Skamania County, WA | 44 km (27 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Skamania County |
| Klickitat County, WA | 55 km (34 mi) | E | earthquakes near Klickitat County |
| Wasco County, OR | 76 km (47 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Wasco County |
| Sherman County, OR | 77 km (48 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Sherman County |
| Clark County, WA | 78 km (48 mi) | W | earthquakes near Clark County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
39 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 6 km SE of Mosier, Oregon
- 1.9 1 km NNE of Dallesport, Washington
- 1.7 23 km N of Trout Lake, Washington
- 1.6 5 km S of Odell, Oregon
- 2.1 21 km NNW of Carson, Washington
- 1.6 5 km N of Mosier, Oregon
- 1.6 21 km N of Trout Lake, Washington
- 1.7 6 km SSE of Trout Lake, Washington
- 1.9 21 km N of Trout Lake, Washington
- 1.5 5 km NNW of White Salmon, Washington
- 2.1 21 km N of Trout Lake, Washington
- 1.9 21 km N of Trout Lake, Washington
- 1.7 1 km ESE of Chenoweth, Oregon
- 1.8 11 km NNW of Carson, Washington
- 1.6 4 km ENE of Dallesport, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.