QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near White Salmon, WA

USGS: 10 km NW of White Salmon, Washington

87 km (54 mi) ENE of Portland, OR

1:35 pm PDT, Aug 13, 2019 · · -1.2 km deep · released about 7.3 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Hood River County 31 kmSkamania County 39 kmKlickitat County 63 kmMultnomah County 70 kmClark County 70 kmWasco County 76 kmSherman County 83 kmClackamas County 84 kmCowlitz County 96 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
1:35 pm PDT on 13 August 2019 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) NW of White Salmon, WA · earthquakes near White Salmon
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
-1.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Hood River County, 31 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2606 days ago

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) NW of White Salmon, WA, at 1:35 pm PDT on 13 August 2019 (20:35 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, Carson, Stevenson, Cascade Locks.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.3 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 2,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.3 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. 5.1 28 km ENE of Amboy, Washington · 49 km WNW 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 45.7842, -121.5868. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Hood River County, OR 31 km (19 mi) S earthquakes near Hood River County
Skamania County, WA 39 km (24 mi) NW earthquakes near Skamania County
Klickitat County, WA 63 km (39 mi) E earthquakes near Klickitat County
Multnomah County, OR 70 km (43 mi) WSW earthquakes near Multnomah County
Clark County, WA 70 km (43 mi) W earthquakes near Clark County
Wasco County, OR 76 km (47 mi) SSE earthquakes near Wasco 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. 1.7 1 km ESE of Chenoweth, Oregon
  2. 1.8 11 km NNW of Carson, Washington
  3. 1.6 4 km ENE of Dallesport, Washington
  4. 2.1 21 km N of Trout Lake, Washington
  5. 1.6 7 km SE of Mount Hood, Oregon
  6. 1.6 4 km SSE of Odell, Oregon
  7. 1.9 13 km ESE of Trout Lake, Washington
  8. 1.6 7 km NNE of Government Camp, Oregon
  9. 2.6 Washington-Oregon border region
  10. 2.2 8 km NNE of Government Camp, Oregon
  11. 3.0 8 km NNE of Government Camp, Oregon
  12. 1.7 6 km E of The Dalles, Oregon
  13. 2.2 7 km NNE of Government Camp, Oregon
  14. 1.7 4 km S of Odell, Oregon
  15. 1.6 3 km ESE of Parkdale, Oregon

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.