QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Longview, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Longview in the 24 hours to 7:25 am PST (15:25 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 29 km (18 mi) SSE, at 7:25 am PDT on 22 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 113 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Longview

No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.7 explosion was recorded 10 km (6 mi) northwest of Longview, WA, at 4:04 pm PDT on 27 July 2023 (23:04 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: Washington-Oregon border region

79 km (49 mi) NNW of Portland, OR

4:04 pm PDT, Jul 27, 2023 · · -0.4 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Cowlitz County 28 kmColumbia County 28 kmWahkiakum County 32 kmClatsop County 55 kmClark County 63 kmLewis County 66 kmPacific County 70 kmWashington County 71 kmThurston County 84 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
4:04 pm PDT on 27 July 2023 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) northwest of Longview, WA · earthquakes near Longview
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
-0.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Cowlitz County, 28 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1201 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Longview, 10 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: West Longview, Longview Heights, West Side Highway, Kelso, Castle Rock, Rainier.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 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 1,400,000× 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 89× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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.

Where

Epicentre 46.1940, -123.0373. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Cowlitz County, WA 28 km (17 mi) E earthquakes near Cowlitz County
Columbia County, OR 28 km (18 mi) S earthquakes near Columbia County
Wahkiakum County, WA 32 km (20 mi) WNW earthquakes near Wahkiakum County
Clatsop County, OR 55 km (34 mi) WSW earthquakes near Clatsop County
Clark County, WA 63 km (39 mi) SE earthquakes near Clark County
Lewis County, WA 66 km (41 mi) NE earthquakes near Lewis County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 24 km N of Amboy, Washington
  2. 2.3 5 km W of Napavine, Washington
  3. 1.6 1 km WSW of Kalama, Washington
  4. 1.7 24 km N of Amboy, Washington
  5. 2.1 24 km N of Amboy, Washington
  6. 1.9 4 km SW of Cathlamet, Washington
  7. 1.7 4 km NNE of Kalama, Washington
  8. 1.9 3 km WSW of Cathlamet, Washington
  9. 1.8 5 km WNW of Deer Island, Oregon
  10. 1.8 21 km SE of Toledo, Washington
  11. 2.3 19 km E of Kelso, Washington
  12. 2.0 19 km E of Kelso, Washington
  13. 1.5 9 km ENE of Kalama, Washington
  14. 1.6 4 km SW of Cathlamet, Washington
  15. 1.6 5 km SW of Napavine, 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.