QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3ml

Earthquake near Goldendale, WA

USGS: 14 km NNW of Roosevelt, Washington

12:50 am PDT, May 10, 2020 · · 19 km deep · released about 91 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Klickitat County 37 kmGilliam County 53 kmSherman County 59 kmMorrow County 72 kmBenton County 73 kmYakima County 75 kmWasco County 103 kmHood River County 112 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
12:50 am PDT on 10 May 2020 ()
Where
41 km (25 mi) E of Goldendale, WA · earthquakes near Goldendale
Magnitude
M 2.3 (ml)
Depth
19 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Measured shaking
intensity II (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Klickitat County, 37 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Oak Flat fault, 17 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 2256 days ago

A magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 41 km (25 mi) E of Goldendale, WA, at 12:50 am PDT on 10 May 2020 (07:50 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 91 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 170,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 120,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 10× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 91 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 45.8570, -120.2957. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Klickitat County, WA 37 km (23 mi) W earthquakes near Klickitat County
Gilliam County, OR 53 km (33 mi) S earthquakes near Gilliam County
Sherman County, OR 59 km (37 mi) SSW earthquakes near Sherman County
Morrow County, OR 72 km (45 mi) SE earthquakes near Morrow County
Benton County, WA 73 km (45 mi) NE earthquakes near Benton County
Yakima County, WA 75 km (47 mi) NNW earthquakes near Yakima County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 17 km ENE of Roosevelt, Washington
  2. 0.9 22 km SSE of Harrah, Washington
  3. 2.1 12 km SSE of Bickleton, Washington
  4. 1.9 7 km SW of Arlington, Oregon
  5. 1.5 4 km SSW of Arlington, Oregon
  6. 1.7 1 km SSE of Goldendale, Washington
  7. 1.7 8 km N of Roosevelt, Washington
  8. 1.5 17 km NNE of Roosevelt, Washington
  9. 1.5 13 km NNE of Roosevelt, Washington
  10. 1.9 16 km ENE of Arlington, Oregon
  11. 2.0 8 km SSE of Bickleton, Washington
  12. 2.0 2 km SSE of Arlington, Oregon
  13. 1.7 8 km SE of Wasco, Oregon
  14. 1.8 19 km NW of Bickleton, Washington
  15. 2.0 3 km ESE of Goldendale, 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.