QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

4 km SE of Benton City, Washington

· -0.3 km deep · released about 51 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Benton County 6 kmFranklin County 53 kmWalla Walla County 74 kmUmatilla County 91 kmMorrow County 92 kmYakima County 102 kmGrant County 108 kmKlickitat County 111 kmAdams County 111 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
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
-0.3 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Benton County, 6 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 707 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 51 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 210,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 19× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 51 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 46.2415, -119.4458. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection
Benton County, WA 6 km (4 mi) ENE of here earthquakes near Benton County
Franklin County, WA 53 km (33 mi) SW of here earthquakes near Franklin County
Walla Walla County, WA 74 km (46 mi) W of here earthquakes near Walla Walla County
Umatilla County, OR 91 km (56 mi) NW of here earthquakes near Umatilla County
Morrow County, OR 92 km (57 mi) N of here earthquakes near Morrow County
Yakima County, WA 102 km (63 mi) ESE of here earthquakes near Yakima County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 11 km SSW of Tri-Cities, Washington
  2. 2.8 5 km ESE of Benton City, Washington
  3. 2.0 4 km ESE of Umatilla, Oregon
  4. 1.9 4 km ESE of Umatilla, Oregon
  5. 2.0 16 km S of Mesa, Washington
  6. 1.7 24 km E of Desert Aire, Washington
  7. 1.7 10 km SW of Kennewick, Washington
  8. 2.0 3 km E of Umatilla, Oregon
  9. 1.6 9 km WNW of Highland, Washington
  10. 1.7 1 km WNW of Highland, Washington
  11. 1.6 11 km SE of Desert Aire, Washington
  12. 2.3 11 km SE of Desert Aire, Washington
  13. 1.9 11 km SE of Desert Aire, Washington
  14. 1.6 11 km SE of Desert Aire, Washington
  15. 1.6 11 km SE of Desert Aire, 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

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