QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Morton, WA

Yes. A magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) south of Morton, WA, at 3:34 am PDT on 22 October 2026 (10:34 UTC), 11 km deep. No felt reports to USGS yet.

USGS: 24 km S of Morton, Washington

95 km (59 mi) NNE of Portland, OR

3:34 am PDT, Oct 22, 2026 · · 11 km deep · released about 10 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lewis County 29 kmCowlitz County 37 kmSkamania County 41 kmClark County 66 kmColumbia County 78 kmPierce County 79 kmThurston County 80 kmMultnomah County 89 kmWahkiakum County 91 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
3:34 am PDT on 22 October 2026 ()
Where
24 km (15 mi) south of Morton, WA · earthquakes near Morton
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lewis County, 29 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 10 hours 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 5 km (3 mi) from the epicentre. In Morton, 24 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 10 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 92× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 10 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 16 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.7 38 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 15 km SSE of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 37 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 16 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 23 km S of Morton, Washington · 1 km NNE of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 28 km ENE of Amboy, Washington · 36 km SSE of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 Washington · 14 km SSE 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 46.3400, -122.2397. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lewis County, WA 29 km (18 mi) NNW earthquakes near Lewis County
Cowlitz County, WA 37 km (23 mi) WSW earthquakes near Cowlitz County
Skamania County, WA 41 km (26 mi) SSE earthquakes near Skamania County
Clark County, WA 66 km (41 mi) SSW earthquakes near Clark County
Columbia County, OR 78 km (49 mi) SW earthquakes near Columbia County
Pierce County, WA 79 km (49 mi) N earthquakes near Pierce County

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

Aftershocks so far

1 earthquake has been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 0.4 16 km NNE of Amboy, 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.