explosion · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7ml
Earthquake near Tri-Cities, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Tri-Cities in the 24 hours to 4:25 am PST (12:25 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 12 km (7 mi) SSW, at 4:30 pm PDT on 3 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Tri-Cities
No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.7 explosion was recorded 43 km (27 mi) east-southeast of Tri-Cities, WA, at 2:58 pm PST on 19 December 2024 (22:58 UTC), less than 1 km deep.
USGS: 4 km N of Touchet, Washington
39 km (25 mi) ESE of Pasco, WA
- When
- 2:58 pm PST on 19 December 2024 ()
- Where
- 43 km (27 mi) east-southeast of Tri-Cities, WA · earthquakes near Tri-Cities
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (ml)
- Depth
- -0.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Walla Walla County, 25 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Wallula fault system, 9 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 693 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Tri-Cities, WA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Tri-Cities, 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 Tri-Cities, 43 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: Garrett, College Place, Walla Walla, Finley, Milton-Freewater, Burbank.
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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,300,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 930,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 83× the energy of this one
- 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.
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 lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.0 3 km SW of Garrett, Washington · 20 km ESE of this epicentre
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 46.0838, -118.6820. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walla Walla County, WA | 25 km (15 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Walla Walla County |
| Franklin County, WA | 53 km (33 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Franklin County |
| Umatilla County, OR | 55 km (34 mi) | S | earthquakes near Umatilla County |
| Columbia County, WA | 64 km (40 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Columbia County |
| Benton County, WA | 66 km (41 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Benton County |
| Garfield County, WA | 96 km (60 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Garfield 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.
- 1.3 16 km NNE of Pasco, Washington
- 1.8 3 km W of Pendleton, Oregon
- 1.7 12 km NE of Hermiston, Oregon
- 1.5 14 km NE of Hermiston, Oregon
- 1.8 4 km SSW of Wallula, Washington
- 2.1 2 km N of Highland, Washington
- 2.1 5 km S of Milton-Freewater, Oregon
- 1.7 12 km ENE of Hermiston, Oregon
- 2.0 7 km WNW of Highland, Washington
- 2.0 10 km W of Pendleton, Oregon
- 2.3 7 km N of Helix, Oregon
- 1.7 8 km N of Helix, Oregon
- 2.0 16 km S of Mesa, Washington
- 1.9 9 km WNW of Touchet, Washington
- 1.8 4 km NNW of Pendleton, Oregon
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.