explosion · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9ml
Earthquake near The Dalles, OR
No earthquake was likely felt in The Dalles in the 24 hours to 6:14 am PST (14:14 UTC). The last one was M 1.7, 6 km (4 mi) NNE, at 5:50 pm PDT on 3 June 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near The Dalles
No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.9 explosion was recorded 32 km (20 mi) east of The Dalles, OR, at 9:10 am PDT on 19 May 2021 (16:10 UTC), less than 1 km deep.
USGS: Washington-Oregon border region
- When
- 9:10 am PDT on 19 May 2021 ()
- Where
- 32 km (20 mi) east of The Dalles, OR · earthquakes near The Dalles
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (ml)
- Depth
- -0.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Klickitat County, 25 km N
- Nearest mapped fault
- Oak Flat fault, 22 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 2002 days ago
Earthquake alerts for The Dalles, OR
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near The Dalles, OR. 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 minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In The Dalles, 32 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: Goldendale.
USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 25 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 600,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 420,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 38× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 25 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.
Where
Epicentre 45.6452, -120.7735. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Klickitat County, WA | 25 km (16 mi) | N | earthquakes near Klickitat County |
| Sherman County, OR | 28 km (18 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Sherman County |
| Gilliam County, OR | 48 km (30 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Gilliam County |
| Wasco County, OR | 62 km (38 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Wasco County |
| Hood River County, OR | 70 km (44 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Hood River County |
| Yakima County, WA | 90 km (56 mi) | N | earthquakes near Yakima County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
27 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 12 km SSE of Bickleton, Washington
- 1.9 7 km SW of Arlington, Oregon
- 1.7 3 km NE of Dallesport, Washington
- 1.8 4 km E of Dallesport, Washington
- 1.7 1 km SSE of Goldendale, Washington
- 1.9 1 km NNE of Dallesport, Washington
- 1.7 8 km SE of Wasco, Oregon
- 1.7 1 km ESE of Chenoweth, Oregon
- 2.0 3 km ESE of Goldendale, Washington
- 1.8 6 km SW of Arlington, Oregon
- 2.2 19 km S of Arlington, Oregon
- 1.6 4 km ENE of Dallesport, Washington
- 1.5 5 km ESE of Dufur, Oregon
- 1.9 11 km S of Bickleton, Washington
- 1.9 13 km E 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
- 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.