Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Yakima, WA
USGS: 8 km NNE of White Swan, Washington
19 km (12 mi) SW of Yakima, WA
- When
- 3:44 am PST on 28 January 2020 ()
- Where
- 22 km (14 mi) SW of Yakima, WA · earthquakes near Yakima
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Yakima County, 2 km W
- Nearest mapped fault
- Toppenish Ridge structures, 18 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2437 days ago
A magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 22 km (14 mi) SW of Yakima, WA, at 3:44 am PST on 28 January 2020 (11:44 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Ahtanum, West Valley, Union Gap, Wapato, Gleed, Selah.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,700,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.6 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 46.4563, -120.7087. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yakima County, WA | 2 km (1 mi) | W | earthquakes near Yakima County |
| Klickitat County, WA | 65 km (41 mi) | S | earthquakes near Klickitat County |
| Kittitas County, WA | 74 km (46 mi) | N | earthquakes near Kittitas County |
| Benton County, WA | 95 km (59 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Benton County |
| Skamania County, WA | 107 km (67 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Skamania County |
| Sherman County, OR | 118 km (73 mi) | S | earthquakes near Sherman County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 17 km SSE of White Swan, Washington
- 3.1 5 km WSW of Harrah, Washington
- 2.3 17 km SW of Nile, Washington
- 2.6 17 km SW of Nile, Washington
- 1.5 18 km SW of Nile, Washington
- 1.6 2 km WNW of Summitview, Washington
- 2.1 11 km NNE of Selah, Washington
- 1.6 17 km SW of Nile, Washington
- 2.0 17 km WSW of Nile, Washington
- 1.7 20 km S of White Swan, Washington
- 1.9 0 km SW of Selah, Washington
- 1.9 1 km SSW of Selah, Washington
- 1.8 17 km SW of Nile, Washington
- 1.8 17 km SW of Nile, Washington
- 1.9 16 km WSW of Nile, 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.