QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near West Richland, WA

USGS: 29 km NNW of West Richland, Washington

34 km (21 mi) NW of Richland, WA

1:58 am PDT, Sep 16, 2019 · · 19 km deep · released about 13 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near West Richland Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Benton County 34 kmFranklin County 51 kmGrant County 77 kmWalla Walla County 89 kmYakima County 90 kmAdams County 97 kmKittitas County 107 kmKlickitat County 118 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
1:58 am PDT on 16 September 2019 ()
Where
30 km (18 mi) NNW of West Richland, WA · earthquakes near West Richland
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
19 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Benton County, 34 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2573 days ago

A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 30 km (18 mi) NNW of West Richland, WA, at 1:58 am PDT on 16 September 2019 (08:58 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 13 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 840,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 75× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 13 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 46.5277, -119.5733. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Benton County, WA 34 km (21 mi) S earthquakes near Benton County
Franklin County, WA 51 km (32 mi) E earthquakes near Franklin County
Grant County, WA 77 km (48 mi) N earthquakes near Grant County
Walla Walla County, WA 89 km (55 mi) ESE earthquakes near Walla Walla County
Yakima County, WA 90 km (56 mi) W earthquakes near Yakima County
Adams County, WA 97 km (60 mi) NE earthquakes near Adams County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 Washington
  2. 1.5 9 km WSW of Benton City, Washington
  3. 1.6 11 km ENE of Mattawa, Washington
  4. 2.3 10 km WSW of Benton City, Washington
  5. 2.2 9 km WSW of Benton City, Washington
  6. 1.9 12 km W of Highland, Washington
  7. 1.9 10 km ENE of Prosser, Washington
  8. 2.2 4 km SSW of West Richland, Washington
  9. 1.6 1 km SE of Benton City, Washington
  10. 1.7 9 km NE of Sunnyside, Washington
  11. 1.9 12 km W of Highland, Washington
  12. 1.9 3 km WSW of Benton City, Washington
  13. 1.6 4 km WSW of Benton City, Washington
  14. 1.6 9 km SE of Desert Aire, Washington
  15. 1.6 9 km SSE of Desert Aire, 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.