explosion · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Chelan, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Chelan in the 24 hours to 5:44 pm PST (01:44 UTC). The last one was M 1.7, 8 km (5 mi) WSW, at 8:10 am PDT on 20 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Chelan
No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.5 explosion was recorded 16 km (10 mi) east of Chelan, WA, at 2:13 pm PDT on 2 May 2023 (21:13 UTC), less than 1 km deep.
USGS: Washington
- When
- 2:13 pm PDT on 2 May 2023 ()
- Where
- 16 km (10 mi) east of Chelan, WA · earthquakes near Chelan
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- -1.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Douglas County, 13 km SE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1288 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Chelan, WA
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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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Chelan, 16 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: Bridgeport, Manson, Waterville, Brewster.
USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.9 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,800,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 160× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.9 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 47.8308, -119.8050. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Douglas County, WA | 13 km (8 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Douglas County |
| Chelan County, WA | 61 km (38 mi) | W | earthquakes near Chelan County |
| Grant County, WA | 73 km (45 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Grant County |
| Okanogan County, WA | 80 km (50 mi) | N | earthquakes near Okanogan County |
| Kittitas County, WA | 102 km (64 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Kittitas County |
| Lincoln County, WA | 107 km (67 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Lincoln County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
32 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.2 2 km WNW of Entiat, Washington
- 0.4 2 km WNW of Entiat, Washington
- 0.8 1 km N of Entiat, Washington
- 0.4 6 km SSW of Entiat, Washington
- 2.1 4 km NW of Waterville, Washington
- 0.9 5 km ENE of Entiat, Washington
- 2.3 4 km NW of Waterville, Washington
- 1.7 7 km WSW of Chelan, Washington
- 1.9 10 km SSW of Granite Falls, Washington
- 1.5 7 km SSE of Chelan Falls, Washington
- 1.8 12 km WNW of Mansfield, Washington
- 1.6 13 km E of Waterville, Washington
- 1.8 7 km W of Entiat, Washington
- 2.5 4 km NW of Waterville, Washington
- 1.6 15 km WSW of Methow, 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.