QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Grandview, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Grandview in the 24 hours to 7:29 am PST (15:29 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 50 km (31 mi) WSW, at 12:04 pm PDT on 12 October 2017, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 4 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Grandview

No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 2.1 explosion was recorded 48 km (30 mi) southwest of Grandview, WA, at 10:23 am PDT on 1 September 2026 (17:23 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 12 km SSE of Bickleton, Washington

10:23 am PDT, Sep 1, 2026 · · -0.6 km deep · released about 51 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Klickitat County 41 kmGilliam County 57 kmSherman County 64 kmBenton County 68 kmMorrow County 73 kmYakima County 73 kmWasco County 108 kmHood River County 117 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
10:23 am PDT on 1 September 2026 ()
Where
48 km (30 mi) southwest of Grandview, WA · earthquakes near Grandview
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
-0.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Klickitat County, 41 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Oak Flat fault, 22 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 71 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 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Grandview, 48 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.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 51 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 5.8 300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 210,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 19× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 51 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 since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 45.8923, -120.2553. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Klickitat County, WA 41 km (25 mi) W earthquakes near Klickitat County
Gilliam County, OR 57 km (35 mi) S earthquakes near Gilliam County
Sherman County, OR 64 km (40 mi) SSW earthquakes near Sherman County
Benton County, WA 68 km (42 mi) ENE earthquakes near Benton County
Morrow County, OR 73 km (45 mi) SE earthquakes near Morrow County
Yakima County, WA 73 km (45 mi) NNW earthquakes near Yakima County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 17 km ENE of Roosevelt, Washington
  2. 0.9 22 km SSE of Harrah, 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.