QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

17 km NNE of Pasco, Washington

· -0.2 km deep · released about 6.6 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Franklin County 19 kmBenton County 41 kmWalla Walla County 46 kmAdams County 80 kmColumbia County 88 kmUmatilla County 93 kmGrant County 96 kmGarfield County 116 kmMorrow County 116 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 1.6 (ml)
Depth
-0.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Franklin County, 19 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 362 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.6 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 46.3962, -119.0472. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection
Franklin County, WA 19 km (12 mi) SW of here earthquakes near Franklin County
Benton County, WA 41 km (25 mi) ENE of here earthquakes near Benton County
Walla Walla County, WA 46 km (29 mi) WNW of here earthquakes near Walla Walla County
Adams County, WA 80 km (49 mi) SSW of here earthquakes near Adams County
Columbia County, WA 88 km (55 mi) W of here earthquakes near Columbia County
Umatilla County, OR 93 km (58 mi) NNW of here earthquakes near Umatilla County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 11 km W of Highland, Washington
  2. 1.7 11 km W of Highland, Washington
  3. 1.8 4 km SSW of Wallula, Washington
  4. 2.1 2 km N of Highland, Washington
  5. 1.8 11 km W of Highland, Washington
  6. 2.0 7 km WNW of Highland, Washington
  7. 1.8 3 km SSW of West Richland, Washington
  8. 1.8 11 km SSW of Tri-Cities, Washington
  9. 2.8 5 km ESE of Benton City, Washington
  10. 2.0 16 km S of Mesa, Washington
  11. 1.7 10 km SW of Kennewick, Washington
  12. 1.9 9 km WNW of Touchet, Washington
  13. 1.6 9 km WNW of Highland, Washington
  14. 1.8 10 km WSW of Hatton, Washington
  15. 1.7 1 km WNW of Highland, 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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