explosion · 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 5:54 am PST (13:54 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
No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.6 explosion was recorded 4 km (3 mi) northeast of Battle Ground, WA, at 4:34 pm PDT on 18 October 2021 (23:34 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: Washington-Oregon border region
32 km (20 mi) NNE of Portland, OR · 20 km (13 mi) NNE of Vancouver, WA
- When
- 4:34 pm PDT on 18 October 2021 ()
- Where
- 4 km (3 mi) northeast of Battle Ground, WA · earthquakes near Battle Ground
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- -1.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Clark County, 3 km S
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1851 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Battle Ground, WA
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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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Lewisville, Venersborg, Hockinson, Meadow Glade, Dollar Corner, Brush Prairie.
USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.
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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,100,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
- 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.
Where
Epicentre 45.8027, -122.4900. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clark County, WA | 3 km (2 mi) | S | earthquakes near Clark County |
| Multnomah County, OR | 29 km (18 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Multnomah County |
| Cowlitz County, WA | 46 km (29 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Cowlitz County |
| Columbia County, OR | 48 km (30 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Columbia County |
| Skamania County, WA | 48 km (30 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Skamania County |
| Washington County, OR | 55 km (34 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Washington County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
52 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 1 km N of Deer Island, Oregon
- 2.5 3 km SW of Lake Shore, Washington
- 1.6 3 km SW of Lake Shore, Washington
- 1.5 6 km NW of North Portland, Oregon
- 1.9 12 km WNW of Scappoose, Oregon
- 1.6 Washington-Oregon border region
- 1.9 3 km W of Yacolt, Washington
- 1.7 1 km WSW of Yacolt, Washington
- 1.5 8 km N of Amboy, Washington
- 1.6 3 km WSW of Yacolt, Washington
- 1.6 3 km SW of Yacolt, Washington
- 1.7 3 km E of Prescott, Oregon
- 1.6 3 km WSW of Yacolt, Washington
- 1.8 8 km S of Scappoose, Oregon
- 1.8 3 km WNW of Saint Helens, 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.