Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7ml
Earthquake near Walla Walla, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Walla Walla in the 24 hours to 2:19 pm PST (22:19 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 16 km (10 mi) S, at 10:01 am PDT on 25 April 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Walla Walla
This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 29 km (18 mi) west-southwest of Walla Walla, WA, at 10:29 pm PST on 21 December 2025 (06:29 UTC), 19 km deep.
USGS: 8 km N of Helix, Oregon
50 km (31 mi) SE of Kennewick, WA
- When
- 10:29 pm PST on 21 December 2025 ()
- Where
- 29 km (18 mi) west-southwest of Walla Walla, WA · earthquakes near Walla Walla
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 19 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Umatilla County, 38 km S
- Nearest mapped fault
- Wallula fault system, 2 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 325 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Walla Walla, WA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Walla Walla, 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Walla Walla, 29 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: Athena, Milton-Freewater, Garrett, College Place, Mission, Pendleton.
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 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 970,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 86× 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 · 22 km ENE 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 45.9260, -118.6628. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Umatilla County, OR | 38 km (23 mi) | S | earthquakes near Umatilla County |
| Walla Walla County, WA | 39 km (24 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Walla Walla County |
| Franklin County, WA | 70 km (44 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Franklin County |
| Columbia County, WA | 71 km (44 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Columbia County |
| Benton County, WA | 74 km (46 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Benton County |
| Union County, OR | 86 km (54 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Union County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
10 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 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
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.