QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Colfax, WA

USGS: 1 km NNE of Colfax, Washington

86 km (53 mi) S of Spokane, WA

3:06 pm PDT, Oct 14, 2021 · · -0.9 km deep · released about 40 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Colfax Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Whitman County 14 kmLatah County 48 kmGarfield County 54 kmBenewah County 65 kmNez Perce County 77 kmColumbia County 79 kmAsotin County 80 kmSpokane County 81 kmAdams County 89 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
3:06 pm PDT on 14 October 2021 ()
Where
in Colfax, WA · earthquakes near Colfax
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
-0.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Whitman County, 14 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1813 days ago

A magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded in Colfax, WA, at 3:06 pm PDT on 14 October 2021 (22:06 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Palouse, Pullman.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 40 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 380,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 270,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 24× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 40 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 46.8950, -117.3555. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Whitman County, WA 14 km (9 mi) W earthquakes near Whitman County
Latah County, ID 48 km (30 mi) E earthquakes near Latah County
Garfield County, WA 54 km (33 mi) SSW earthquakes near Garfield County
Benewah County, ID 65 km (41 mi) ENE earthquakes near Benewah County
Nez Perce County, ID 77 km (48 mi) SE earthquakes near Nez Perce County
Columbia County, WA 79 km (49 mi) SSW earthquakes near Columbia County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 5 km ENE of Pullman, Washington
  2. 1.7 4 km E of Uniontown, Washington
  3. 2.3 4 km ENE of Pullman, Washington
  4. 1.8 7 km SSW of Tekoa, Washington
  5. 1.7 15 km NW of Pomeroy, Washington
  6. 2.3 5 km SSW of Moscow, Idaho
  7. 1.7 6 km WSW of Troy, Idaho
  8. 1.6 8 km SSE of Pullman, Washington
  9. 2.2 8 km SW of Potlatch, Idaho
  10. 1.8 14 km E of Pomeroy, Washington
  11. 1.6 10 km ESE of Moscow, Idaho
  12. 2.1 6 km N of Onaway, Idaho
  13. 2.1 5 km NNE of Pullman, Washington
  14. 2.0 2 km NE of Colfax, Washington
  15. 1.9 8 km SSE of Pullman, 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.