QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

2 km WNW of Saint Helens, Oregon

· -0.3 km deep · released about 21 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Columbia County 21 kmClark County 29 kmCowlitz County 38 kmWashington County 41 kmMultnomah County 48 kmWahkiakum County 66 kmClatsop County 70 kmSkamania County 70 kmYamhill County 79 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 1.9 (ml)
Depth
-0.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Columbia County, 21 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 205 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 21 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 730,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 520,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 46× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 21 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 45.8717, -122.8303. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection
Columbia County, OR 21 km (13 mi) ESE of here earthquakes near Columbia County
Clark County, WA 29 km (18 mi) WNW of here earthquakes near Clark County
Cowlitz County, WA 38 km (24 mi) SSW of here earthquakes near Cowlitz County
Washington County, OR 41 km (25 mi) NNE of here earthquakes near Washington County
Multnomah County, OR 48 km (30 mi) NW of here earthquakes near Multnomah County
Wahkiakum County, WA 66 km (41 mi) SE of here earthquakes near Wahkiakum County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.3 20 km E of Castle Rock, Washington
  2. 1.5 5 km NNW of Venersborg, Washington
  3. 1.7 18 km N of Amboy, Washington
  4. 0.7 21 km ESE of Castle Rock, Washington
  5. 0.9 20 km E of Castle Rock, Washington
  6. 0.6 21 km ESE of Castle Rock, Washington
  7. 1.5 31 km E of Kelso, Washington
  8. 2.0 10 km SSE of Scappoose, Oregon
  9. 1.6 5 km WSW of Yacolt, Washington
  10. 1.7 20 km E of Castle Rock, Washington
  11. 3.8 20 km E of Castle Rock, Washington
  12. 1.8 4 km WSW of Yacolt, Washington
  13. 1.8 27 km N of Amboy, Washington
  14. 2.1 4 km W of Yacolt, Washington
  15. 1.6 8 km SW of Vernonia, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.