QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near La Center, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in La Center in the 24 hours to 12:25 am PST (08:25 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 15 km (9 mi) W, at 7:25 am PDT on 22 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 113 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near La Center

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) north of La Center, WA, at 12:50 pm PST on 27 November 2022 (20:50 UTC), 17 km deep.

USGS: 3 km NNE of La Center, Washington

39 km (24 mi) N of Portland, OR · 29 km (18 mi) N of Vancouver, WA

12:50 pm PST, Nov 27, 2022 · · 17 km deep · released about 10 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Clark County 19 kmColumbia County 33 kmCowlitz County 34 kmMultnomah County 43 kmWashington County 51 kmSkamania County 57 kmWahkiakum County 74 kmLewis County 80 kmClatsop County 82 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
12:50 pm PST on 27 November 2022 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) north of La Center, WA · earthquakes near La Center
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
17 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Clark County, 19 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1445 days ago

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 La Center, 3 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: Woodland, Ridgefield, Columbia City, Saint Helens, Dollar Corner, Lewisville.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 10 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 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 92× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 10 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 lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.2 5 km E of Bridgeton, Oregon · 33 km S of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 37 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 50 km NE of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 28 km ENE of Amboy, Washington · 44 km ENE of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 3 km SW of Portland, Oregon · 44 km S of this epicentre

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 45.8912, -122.6622. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Clark County, WA 19 km (12 mi) SE earthquakes near Clark County
Columbia County, OR 33 km (20 mi) W earthquakes near Columbia County
Cowlitz County, WA 34 km (21 mi) N earthquakes near Cowlitz County
Multnomah County, OR 43 km (27 mi) SSE earthquakes near Multnomah County
Washington County, OR 51 km (31 mi) SW earthquakes near Washington County
Skamania County, WA 57 km (35 mi) ENE earthquakes near Skamania County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 5 km WSW of Yacolt, Washington
  2. 1.6 5 km NE of Lewisville, Washington
  3. 1.6 34 km NE of Amboy, Washington
  4. 1.8 8 km S of Scappoose, Oregon
  5. 1.6 5 km ENE of Lewisville, Washington
  6. 1.8 34 km NNE of Amboy, Washington
  7. 1.5 27 km ENE of Kelso, Washington
  8. 1.9 3 km NNE of Deer Island, Oregon
  9. 1.7 33 km NNE of Amboy, Washington
  10. 3.0 33 km NNE of Amboy, Washington
  11. 1.9 1 km ESE of La Center, Washington
  12. 1.6 5 km NNE of Kalama, Washington
  13. 3.1 4 km WSW of Deer Island, Oregon
  14. 1.7 2 km WNW of Yacolt, Washington
  15. 1.8 2 km ENE of Brush Prairie, 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.