explosion · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8md
Earthquake near Sandpoint, ID
USGS: 3 km WNW of Sandpoint, Idaho
93 km (58 mi) NE of Spokane, WA
- When
- 2:19 pm PDT on 14 August 2023 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) WNW of Sandpoint, ID · earthquakes near Sandpoint
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (md)
- Depth
- -0.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Bonner County, 5 km NNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1145 days ago
A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) WNW of Sandpoint, ID, at 2:19 pm PDT on 14 August 2023 (21:19 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Ponderay, Priest River.
USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 15 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 63× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 48.2847, -116.5928. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonner County, ID | 5 km (3 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Bonner County |
| Boundary County, ID | 55 km (34 mi) | N | earthquakes near Boundary County |
| Pend Oreille County, WA | 55 km (34 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Pend Oreille County |
| Kootenai County, ID | 68 km (42 mi) | S | earthquakes near Kootenai County |
| Lincoln County, MT | 89 km (55 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Lincoln County |
| Stevens County, WA | 94 km (58 mi) | W | earthquakes near Stevens 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.
- 2.3 2 km NE of Dover, Idaho
- 2.2 8 km WNW of Dover, Idaho
- 1.8 6 km SSW of Athol, Idaho
- 1.6 13 km NNW of Athol, Idaho
- 1.9 6 km NNW of Priest River, Idaho
- 2.1 12 km NNW of Kootenai, Idaho
- 1.6 11 km NNW of Kootenai, Idaho
- 2.1 7 km WSW of Clark Fork, Idaho
- 1.6 18 km N of Kootenai, Idaho
- 2.2 8 km NW of Ponderay, Idaho
- 1.8 13 km SSW of East Hope, Idaho
- 2.1 8 km WNW of Dover, Idaho
- 1.8 9 km NNW of Ponderay, Idaho
- 1.5 11 km SSW of East Hope, Idaho
- 2.5 10 km SSW of East Hope, 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
- 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.