Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.5ml
Earthquake near Desert Aire, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Desert Aire in the 24 hours to 10:28 pm PST (06:28 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 11 km (7 mi) SE, at 7:08 am PDT on 16 April 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Desert Aire
This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) southeast of Desert Aire, WA, at 8:17 am PDT on 29 September 2019 (15:17 UTC), 6.6 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 9 km SE of Desert Aire, Washington
54 km (33 mi) E of Yakima, WA
- When
- 8:17 am PDT on 29 September 2019 ()
- Where
- 10 km (6 mi) southeast of Desert Aire, WA · earthquakes near Desert Aire
- Magnitude
- M 2.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 6.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Benton County, 49 km SSE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2519 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Desert Aire, WA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Desert Aire, WA. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In Desert Aire, 10 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Mattawa.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 190 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 80,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 57,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.1× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.5 about 190 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 46.6093, -119.8457. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benton County, WA | 49 km (31 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Benton County |
| Yakima County, WA | 70 km (44 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Yakima County |
| Franklin County, WA | 72 km (45 mi) | E | earthquakes near Franklin County |
| Grant County, WA | 73 km (45 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Grant County |
| Kittitas County, WA | 85 km (53 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Kittitas County |
| Klickitat County, WA | 109 km (68 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Klickitat County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
46 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 12 km SE of Desert Aire, Washington
- 1.8 12 km SE of Desert Aire, Washington
- 2.4 8 km SE of Desert Aire, Washington
- 1.7 5 km W of Vantage, Washington
- 1.7 5 km ENE of Prosser, Washington
- 1.6 4 km ENE of Prosser, Washington
- 1.5 8 km NE of Sunnyside, Washington
- 1.6 10 km ENE of Prosser, Washington
- 1.6 Washington
- 2.5 9 km SE of Desert Aire, Washington
- 1.7 10 km SW of Benton City, Washington
- 2.1 Washington
- 1.5 9 km WSW of Benton City, Washington
- 1.6 11 km ENE of Mattawa, Washington
- 2.3 10 km WSW of Benton City, 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.