QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Moscow, ID

USGS: 8 km SE of Moscow, Idaho

12:58 pm PST, Dec 2, 2022 · · -0.7 km deep · released about 12 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Latah County 21 kmNez Perce County 41 kmWhitman County 53 kmGarfield County 55 kmAsotin County 61 kmLewis County 62 kmBenewah County 63 kmColumbia County 88 kmClearwater County 96 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
12:58 pm PST on 2 December 2022 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) SE of Moscow, ID · earthquakes near Moscow
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
-0.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Latah County, 21 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1395 days ago

A magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) SE of Moscow, ID, at 12:58 pm PST on 2 December 2022 (20:58 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Pullman, Palouse.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 12 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 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 870,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 78× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 12 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 46.6840, -116.9163. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Latah County, ID 21 km (13 mi) NE earthquakes near Latah County
Nez Perce County, ID 41 km (25 mi) SSE earthquakes near Nez Perce County
Whitman County, WA 53 km (33 mi) WNW earthquakes near Whitman County
Garfield County, WA 55 km (34 mi) WSW earthquakes near Garfield County
Asotin County, WA 61 km (38 mi) SSW earthquakes near Asotin County
Lewis County, ID 62 km (39 mi) SE earthquakes near Lewis County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 1 km NW of Asotin, Washington
  2. 2.1 5 km ENE of Pullman, Washington
  3. 2.3 9 km ESE of Princeton, Idaho
  4. 1.7 4 km E of Uniontown, Washington
  5. 2.3 4 km ENE of Pullman, 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. 2.1 2 km SSE of Lewiston Orchards, Idaho
  10. 2.2 8 km SW of Potlatch, Idaho
  11. 2.2 2 km NE of Lewiston Orchards, Idaho
  12. 1.8 14 km E of Pomeroy, Washington
  13. 1.6 10 km ESE of Moscow, Idaho
  14. 1.9 7 km WSW of Deary, Idaho
  15. 1.9 7 km ENE of Troy, 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.