Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Yakima, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Yakima in the 24 hours to 4:37 am PST (12:37 UTC). The last one was M 3.1, 25 km (15 mi) SSW, at 9:23 am PDT on 11 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 57 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Yakima
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 49 km (30 mi) west-northwest of Yakima, WA, at 2:35 pm PST on 18 January 2026 (22:35 UTC), 8.6 km deep.
USGS: 17 km SW of Nile, Washington
46 km (29 mi) WNW of Yakima, WA · 137 km (85 mi) SE of Seattle, WA
- When
- 2:35 pm PST on 18 January 2026 ()
- Where
- 49 km (30 mi) west-northwest of Yakima, WA · earthquakes near Yakima
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 8.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Yakima County, 41 km SE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 283 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Yakima, WA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Yakima, 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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Yakima, 49 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: Tieton.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 7.6 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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.
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:
- 5.0 23 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 30 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 46.7193, -121.1228. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yakima County, WA | 41 km (26 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Yakima County |
| Kittitas County, WA | 56 km (35 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Kittitas County |
| Pierce County, WA | 87 km (54 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Pierce County |
| Lewis County, WA | 97 km (60 mi) | W | earthquakes near Lewis County |
| Klickitat County, WA | 98 km (61 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Klickitat County |
| Skamania County, WA | 100 km (62 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Skamania County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
14 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 0.9 21 km SSE of Packwood, Washington
- 0.6 4 km SSW of Ahtanum, Washington
- 1.2 12 km NNE of Naches, Washington
- 1.2 4 km WNW of Tieton, Washington
- 0.7 7 km W of Ahtanum, Washington
- 0.8 26 km NNE of Packwood, Washington
- 0.6 26 km NNE of Packwood, Washington
- 1.6 17 km SSW of Nile, Washington
- 2.3 17 km SW of Nile, Washington
- 1.8 9 km SSW of Ellensburg, Washington
- 2.6 17 km SW of Nile, Washington
- 1.5 18 km SW of Nile, Washington
- 1.6 2 km WNW of Summitview, Washington
- 2.8 13 km NW of Cliffdell, 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.