QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6ml

Earthquake near Yakima, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Yakima in the 24 hours to 4:34 am PST (12:34 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 2.6 earthquake was recorded 49 km (30 mi) west-northwest of Yakima, WA, at 11:04 pm PDT on 8 July 2026 (06:04 UTC), 8.7 km deep. 4 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 17 km SW of Nile, Washington

46 km (29 mi) WNW of Yakima, WA · 136 km (85 mi) SE of Seattle, WA

11:04 pm PDT, Jul 8, 2026 · · 8.7 km deep · released about 260 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Yakima County 42 kmKittitas County 56 kmPierce County 87 kmLewis County 97 kmKlickitat County 98 kmSkamania County 101 kmKing County 101 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
11:04 pm PDT on 8 July 2026 ()
Where
49 km (30 mi) west-northwest of Yakima, WA · earthquakes near Yakima
Magnitude
M 2.6 (ml)
Depth
8.7 km below the surface
Felt
4 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Yakima County, 42 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 111 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 22 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Yakima, 49 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 260 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 59,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 42,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.7× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 260 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 · 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 46.7242, -121.1203. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Yakima County, WA 42 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 101 km (63 mi) SW earthquakes near Skamania 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. 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. 1.8 9 km SSW of Ellensburg, 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.