QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Olympia, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Olympia in the 24 hours to 3:14 am PST (11:14 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 42 km (26 mi) NNE, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Olympia

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) north-northeast of Olympia, WA, at 5:53 am PDT on 5 July 2019 (12:53 UTC), 41 km deep. 6 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 6 km NNE of Olympia, Washington

7 km (4 mi) N of Olympia, WA · 70 km (44 mi) SW of Seattle, WA

5:53 am PDT, Jul 5, 2019 · · 41 km deep · released about 43 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Olympia Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Thurston County 18 kmMason County 36 kmPierce County 55 kmKitsap County 63 kmLewis County 69 kmGrays Harbor County 72 kmKing County 90 kmPacific County 91 kmJefferson County 93 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
5:53 am PDT on 5 July 2019 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) north-northeast of Olympia, WA · earthquakes near Olympia
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
41 km below the surface
Felt
6 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Thurston County, 18 km SSE
Nearest mapped fault
Olympia structure, 3 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 611 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Olympia, 6 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: Lacey, Tanglewilde, Tanglewilde-Thompson Place, Tumwater, Longbranch, DuPont.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 43 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 5.8 350,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 43 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.1 on 2017-02-23 — about 970 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.8 The 2001 Nisqually, Washington Earthquake · 13 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 6.7 4 km WNW of Roy, Washington · 23 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 6.7 1 km ENE of Dash Point, Washington · 43 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 Puget Sound region, Washington · 35 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 Puget Sound area, Washington · 20 km N 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 47.0985, -122.8792. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Thurston County, WA 18 km (11 mi) SSE earthquakes near Thurston County
Mason County, WA 36 km (22 mi) NW earthquakes near Mason County
Pierce County, WA 55 km (34 mi) E earthquakes near Pierce County
Kitsap County, WA 63 km (39 mi) NNE earthquakes near Kitsap County
Lewis County, WA 69 km (43 mi) SSE earthquakes near Lewis County
Grays Harbor County, WA 72 km (45 mi) W earthquakes near Grays Harbor County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 7 km ENE of Allyn, Washington
  2. 1.6 6 km WSW of La Grande, Washington
  3. 1.9 4 km NE of Home, Washington
  4. 2.1 0 km S of Skokomish, Washington
  5. 2.0 3 km WSW of Home, Washington
  6. 1.6 3 km SSW of Bethel, Washington
  7. 1.8 4 km N of Belfair, Washington
  8. 1.7 1 km SW of East Port Orchard, Washington
  9. 1.7 7 km WNW of Burley, Washington
  10. 1.9 6 km WNW of Hoodsport, Washington
  11. 3.2 3 km W of Skokomish, Washington
  12. 2.0 4 km E of Home, Washington
  13. 3.8 3 km WSW of Skokomish, Washington
  14. 1.6 12 km S of Shelton, Washington
  15. 1.5 1 km E of Dash Point, 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.