QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

Earthquake near Moscow, ID

USGS: 5 km WNW of Potlatch, Idaho

88 km (55 mi) SSE of Spokane, WA

3:14 pm PST, Feb 18, 2022 · · -0.7 km deep · released about 25 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Latah County 22 kmBenewah County 40 kmWhitman County 44 kmNez Perce County 69 kmGarfield County 72 kmSpokane County 82 kmKootenai County 84 kmAsotin County 87 kmLewis 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
3:14 pm PST on 18 February 2022 ()
Where
24 km (15 mi) N of Moscow, ID · earthquakes near Moscow
Magnitude
M 1.9 (ml)
Depth
-0.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Latah County, 22 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1685 days ago

A magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) N of Moscow, ID, at 3:14 pm PST on 18 February 2022 (23:14 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 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 420,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 38× the energy of this one
  4. 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.

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 46.9428, -116.9640. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Latah County, ID 22 km (14 mi) SE earthquakes near Latah County
Benewah County, ID 40 km (25 mi) NE earthquakes near Benewah County
Whitman County, WA 44 km (27 mi) W earthquakes near Whitman County
Nez Perce County, ID 69 km (43 mi) SSE earthquakes near Nez Perce County
Garfield County, WA 72 km (45 mi) SW earthquakes near Garfield County
Spokane County, WA 82 km (51 mi) NNW earthquakes near Spokane County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

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