explosion · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8ml
Earthquake near Kittitas, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Kittitas in the 24 hours to 2:36 pm PST (22:36 UTC). The last one was M 1.7, 4 km (2 mi) ESE, at 9:30 am PDT on 1 May 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Kittitas
No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.8 explosion was recorded 6 km (4 mi) southeast of Kittitas, WA, at 10:57 am PDT on 12 April 2024 (17:57 UTC), less than 1 km deep.
USGS: 5 km SE of Kittitas, Washington
43 km (27 mi) NNE of Yakima, WA · 148 km (92 mi) ESE of Kent, WA
- When
- 10:57 am PDT on 12 April 2024 ()
- Where
- 6 km (4 mi) southeast of Kittitas, WA · earthquakes near Kittitas
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (ml)
- Depth
- -0.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Kittitas County, 31 km NW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 944 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Kittitas, WA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Kittitas, WA. No account or email needed.
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 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In Kittitas, 6 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: Ellensburg.
USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 13 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 1,200,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 840,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 75× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 13 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 46.9543, -120.3548. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kittitas County, WA | 31 km (19 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Kittitas County |
| Yakima County, WA | 63 km (39 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Yakima County |
| Grant County, WA | 73 km (45 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Grant County |
| Douglas County, WA | 101 km (63 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Douglas County |
| Chelan County, WA | 103 km (64 mi) | N | earthquakes near Chelan County |
| Benton County, WA | 103 km (64 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Benton County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
29 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 19 km S of Kittitas, Washington
- 1.0 2 km NE of Yakima, Washington
- 1.1 6 km ESE of Kittitas, Washington
- 1.2 12 km NNE of Naches, Washington
- 1.2 4 km WNW of Tieton, Washington
- 1.6 11 km N of Selah, Washington
- 1.5 11 km N of Selah, Washington
- 1.6 12 km NW of Thorp, Washington
- 1.8 9 km SSW of Ellensburg, Washington
- 1.7 3 km ESE of Kittitas, Washington
- 1.6 2 km WNW of Summitview, Washington
- 2.1 11 km NNE of Selah, Washington
- 1.9 0 km SW of Selah, Washington
- 1.8 15 km SW of Thorp, Washington
- 1.9 1 km SSW of Selah, 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.