Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Tri-Cities, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Tri-Cities in the 24 hours to 5:19 am PST (13:19 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 12 km (7 mi) SSW, at 4:30 pm PDT on 3 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Tri-Cities
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 26 km (16 mi) south of Tri-Cities, WA, at 1:01 am PDT on 29 September 2022 (08:01 UTC), 13 km deep.
USGS: Washington
21 km (13 mi) S of Kennewick, WA
- When
- 1:01 am PDT on 29 September 2022 ()
- Where
- 26 km (16 mi) south of Tri-Cities, WA · earthquakes near Tri-Cities
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Benton County, 33 km NW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Wallula fault system, 18 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 1500 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Tri-Cities, WA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Tri-Cities, WA. 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Tri-Cities, 26 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: Umatilla, Highland, Hermiston, Finley, Kennewick, Irrigon.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 7.8 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 1,900,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.8 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 46.0147, -119.2235. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benton County, WA | 33 km (20 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Benton County |
| Umatilla County, OR | 60 km (38 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Umatilla County |
| Franklin County, WA | 63 km (39 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Franklin County |
| Walla Walla County, WA | 63 km (39 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Walla Walla County |
| Morrow County, OR | 72 km (45 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Morrow County |
| Columbia County, WA | 106 km (66 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Columbia County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
60 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.8 5 km ESE of Benton City, Washington
- 2.0 4 km ESE of Umatilla, Oregon
- 1.9 4 km ESE of Umatilla, Oregon
- 2.0 16 km S of Mesa, Washington
- 1.7 10 km SW of Kennewick, Washington
- 1.9 9 km WNW of Touchet, Washington
- 1.8 4 km NNW of Pendleton, Oregon
- 2.0 3 km E of Umatilla, Oregon
- 1.6 9 km WNW of Highland, Washington
- 1.7 1 km WNW of Highland, Washington
- 2.0 2 km WSW of Burbank, Washington
- 1.8 4 km SSE of Kennewick, Washington
- 2.3 4 km SSW of West Richland, Washington
- 1.6 4 km S of Echo, Oregon
- 1.7 10 km SSW of Tri-Cities, 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.