QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Spokane, WA

USGS: 4 km WNW of Rockford Bay, Idaho

41 km (26 mi) ESE of Spokane, WA · 23 km (14 mi) SSW of Coeur d'Alene, ID

12:08 pm PDT, May 5, 2022 · · -0.7 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kootenai County 25 kmSpokane County 37 kmBenewah County 40 kmLatah County 79 kmShoshone County 81 kmWhitman County 82 kmBonner County 93 kmLincoln County 112 kmPend Oreille County 116 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
12:08 pm PDT on 5 May 2022 ()
Where
40 km (25 mi) ESE of Spokane, WA · earthquakes near Spokane
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
-0.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kootenai County, 25 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 571 days ago

A magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 40 km (25 mi) ESE of Spokane, WA, at 12:08 pm PDT on 5 May 2022 (19:08 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Plummer, Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls, Liberty Lake, Otis Orchards-East Farms, Dalton Gardens.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 930,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 83× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 47.5177, -116.9327. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kootenai County, ID 25 km (16 mi) NE earthquakes near Kootenai County
Spokane County, WA 37 km (23 mi) WNW earthquakes near Spokane County
Benewah County, ID 40 km (25 mi) SE earthquakes near Benewah County
Latah County, ID 79 km (49 mi) S earthquakes near Latah County
Shoshone County, ID 81 km (50 mi) ESE earthquakes near Shoshone County
Whitman County, WA 82 km (51 mi) SW earthquakes near Whitman County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 2 km NE of Fairwood, Washington
  2. 2.1 4 km NW of Rockford Bay, Idaho
  3. 2.2 2 km NW of Mead, Washington
  4. 1.8 7 km SSW of Tekoa, Washington
  5. 1.8 6 km SSW of Athol, Idaho
  6. 1.6 7 km SSE of Saint Maries, Idaho
  7. 1.7 6 km SE of Spangle, Washington
  8. 1.6 3 km ESE of Veradale, Washington
  9. 1.7 4 km SSW of Liberty Lake, Washington
  10. 1.6 13 km SSE of Liberty Lake, Washington
  11. 2.0 3 km N of Harrison, Idaho
  12. 1.8 2 km NNE of Fairwood, Washington
  13. 2.3 2 km NNE of Fairwood, Washington
  14. 2.1 10 km SSW of Saint Maries, Idaho
  15. 1.9 4 km SSE of Saint Maries, Idaho

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.