QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Battle Ground, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Battle Ground in the 24 hours to 3:03 am PST (11:03 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 28 km (17 mi) WNW, at 7:25 am PDT on 22 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 113 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Battle Ground

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) west of Battle Ground, WA, at 4:53 am PDT on 7 April 2020 (11:53 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: 1 km SSW of Cherry Grove, Washington

28 km (17 mi) N of Portland, OR · 16 km (10 mi) N of Vancouver, WA

4:53 am PDT, Apr 7, 2020 · · 12 km deep · released about 7.3 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Clark County 8 kmMultnomah County 29 kmColumbia County 42 kmCowlitz County 46 kmWashington County 47 kmSkamania County 56 kmClackamas County 76 kmHood River County 78 kmYamhill County 83 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
4:53 am PDT on 7 April 2020 ()
Where
4 km (2 mi) west of Battle Ground, WA · earthquakes near Battle Ground
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Clark County, 8 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 616 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Battle Ground, 4 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: Dollar Corner, Meadow Glade, Lewisville, Brush Prairie, Mount Vista, Hockinson.

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 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.2 5 km E of Bridgeton, Oregon · 20 km S of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 28 km ENE of Amboy, Washington · 45 km NE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km SW of Portland, Oregon · 33 km SSW 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 45.7848, -122.5845. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Clark County, WA 8 km (5 mi) E earthquakes near Clark County
Multnomah County, OR 29 km (18 mi) SSE earthquakes near Multnomah County
Columbia County, OR 42 km (26 mi) WNW earthquakes near Columbia County
Cowlitz County, WA 46 km (29 mi) N earthquakes near Cowlitz County
Washington County, OR 47 km (29 mi) WSW earthquakes near Washington County
Skamania County, WA 56 km (35 mi) ENE earthquakes near Skamania 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. 1.5 28 km N of Amboy, Washington
  2. 1.7 2 km WSW of Columbia City, Oregon
  3. 1.7 16 km NNE of Amboy, Washington
  4. 1.5 2 km SSE of Lewisville, Washington
  5. 1.7 26 km N of Amboy, Washington
  6. 2.0 1 km NNW of Salmon Creek, Washington
  7. 1.6 Washington-Oregon border region
  8. 1.7 12 km NE of Vernonia, Oregon
  9. 1.5 13 km ENE of Vernonia, Oregon
  10. 1.7 3 km SSW of Yacolt, Washington
  11. 1.7 3 km NNE of Deer Island, Oregon
  12. 1.8 1 km ENE of Prescott, Oregon
  13. 1.8 4 km SW of North Portland, Oregon
  14. 1.5 0 km W of Garden Home-Whitford, Oregon
  15. 1.5 5 km ENE of Lewisville, 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.