QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near West Valley, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in West Valley in the 24 hours to 6:11 am PST (14:11 UTC). The last one was M 3.1, 22 km (14 mi) S, at 9:23 am PDT on 11 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 57 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near West Valley

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 44 km (27 mi) west-northwest of West Valley, WA, at 5:50 am PDT on 6 May 2025 (12:50 UTC), 4.4 km deep.

USGS: 16 km WSW of Nile, Washington

48 km (30 mi) WNW of Yakima, WA · 134 km (83 mi) SE of Seattle, WA

5:50 am PDT, May 6, 2025 · · 4.4 km deep · released about 41 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Yakima County 44 kmKittitas County 54 kmPierce County 85 kmLewis County 97 kmKing County 98 kmKlickitat County 101 kmSkamania County 102 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
5:50 am PDT on 6 May 2025 ()
Where
44 km (27 mi) west-northwest of West Valley, WA · earthquakes near West Valley
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
4.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Yakima County, 44 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 556 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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In West Valley, 44 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: Tieton.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 41 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 5.8 370,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 260,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 23× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 41 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:

  1. 5.0 23 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 32 km SW 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 46.7492, -121.1308. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Yakima County, WA 44 km (27 mi) SE earthquakes near Yakima County
Kittitas County, WA 54 km (34 mi) NE earthquakes near Kittitas County
Pierce County, WA 85 km (53 mi) WNW earthquakes near Pierce County
Lewis County, WA 97 km (60 mi) W earthquakes near Lewis County
King County, WA 98 km (61 mi) NNW earthquakes near King County
Klickitat County, WA 101 km (63 mi) SSE earthquakes near Klickitat County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 0.9 21 km SSE of Packwood, Washington
  2. 0.6 4 km SSW of Ahtanum, Washington
  3. 1.2 12 km NNE of Naches, Washington
  4. 1.2 4 km WNW of Tieton, Washington
  5. 0.7 7 km W of Ahtanum, Washington
  6. 0.8 26 km NNE of Packwood, Washington
  7. 0.6 26 km NNE of Packwood, Washington
  8. 1.6 17 km SSW of Nile, Washington
  9. 2.3 17 km SW of Nile, Washington
  10. 1.6 3 km S of Packwood, Washington
  11. 2.6 17 km SW of Nile, Washington
  12. 1.5 18 km SW of Nile, Washington
  13. 1.6 2 km WNW of Summitview, Washington
  14. 2.8 13 km NW of Cliffdell, Washington
  15. 1.6 17 km SW of Nile, 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.