QuakeIndex

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 10:02 pm PST (06:02 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 3 km (2 mi) east of Battle Ground, WA, at 4:31 pm PST on 30 November 2022 (00:31 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 3 km E of Battle Ground, Washington

30 km (19 mi) NNE of Portland, OR · 18 km (11 mi) NNE of Vancouver, WA

4:31 pm PST, Nov 30, 2022 · · -1.0 km deep · released about 8.1 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Clark County 2 kmMultnomah County 27 kmCowlitz County 48 kmColumbia County 49 kmSkamania County 49 kmWashington County 54 kmHood River County 72 kmClackamas County 73 kmYamhill County 88 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
4:31 pm PST on 30 November 2022 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) east of Battle Ground, WA · earthquakes near Battle Ground
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
-1.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Clark County, 2 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1441 days ago

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, 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: Lewisville, Venersborg, Hockinson, Meadow Glade, Brush Prairie, Dollar Corner.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 8.1 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.1 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 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.2 5 km E of Bridgeton, Oregon · 22 km SSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 28 km ENE of Amboy, Washington · 39 km NE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km SW of Portland, Oregon · 36 km SSW 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 45.7853, -122.4900. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Clark County, WA 2 km (1 mi) SSE earthquakes near Clark County
Multnomah County, OR 27 km (17 mi) SSE earthquakes near Multnomah County
Cowlitz County, WA 48 km (30 mi) NNW earthquakes near Cowlitz County
Columbia County, OR 49 km (30 mi) WNW earthquakes near Columbia County
Skamania County, WA 49 km (31 mi) ENE earthquakes near Skamania County
Washington County, OR 54 km (33 mi) WSW earthquakes near Washington County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.