explosion · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8ml
Earthquake near White Salmon, WA
USGS: 5 km NNW of White Salmon, Washington
93 km (58 mi) ENE of Portland, OR
- When
- 12:41 pm PDT on 13 July 2020 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) NNW of White Salmon, WA · earthquakes near White Salmon
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (ml)
- Depth
- -1.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Hood River County, 31 km SSW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2270 days ago
A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) NNW of White Salmon, WA, at 12:41 pm PDT on 13 July 2020 (19:41 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Hood River, Odell, Carson, Chenoweth.
USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 15 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 63× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 45.7745, -121.5060. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hood River County, OR | 31 km (20 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Hood River County |
| Skamania County, WA | 44 km (28 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Skamania County |
| Klickitat County, WA | 57 km (36 mi) | E | earthquakes near Klickitat County |
| Wasco County, OR | 73 km (45 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Wasco County |
| Multnomah County, OR | 75 km (47 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Multnomah County |
| Clark County, WA | 76 km (47 mi) | W | earthquakes near Clark County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
21 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.2 7 km NNE of Government Camp, Oregon
- 1.7 4 km S of Odell, Oregon
- 1.6 3 km ESE of Parkdale, Oregon
- 1.6 2 km NW of Carson, Washington
- 1.9 5 km E of The Dalles, Oregon
- 1.8 Washington-Oregon border region
- 1.7 2 km SSW of Odell, Oregon
- 1.5 4 km NNW of North Bonneville, Washington
- 2.4 8 km NW of Parkdale, Oregon
- 1.8 8 km NNE of Government Camp, Oregon
- 2.5 8 km NNE of Government Camp, Oregon
- 1.9 8 km E of The Dalles, Oregon
- 1.9 8 km E of Dallesport, Washington
- 1.7 6 km NE of Government Camp, Oregon
- 1.7 4 km N of Mount Hood, Oregon
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.