QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

1 km NE of Alderton, Washington

· 16 km deep · released about 25 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Pierce County 15 kmKing County 45 kmThurston County 54 kmKitsap County 61 kmLewis County 68 kmMason County 75 kmSnohomish County 103 kmIsland County 114 kmCowlitz County 115 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
16 km below the surface
Felt
12 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Pierce County, 15 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3323 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage. 12 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 25 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 5.8 620,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 440,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 39× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 25 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 47.1773, -122.2123. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection
Pierce County, WA 15 km (9 mi) NNW of here earthquakes near Pierce County
King County, WA 45 km (28 mi) SW of here earthquakes near King County
Thurston County, WA 54 km (34 mi) ENE of here earthquakes near Thurston County
Kitsap County, WA 61 km (38 mi) SSE of here earthquakes near Kitsap County
Lewis County, WA 68 km (42 mi) N of here earthquakes near Lewis County
Mason County, WA 75 km (47 mi) ESE of here earthquakes near Mason County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 3 km NW of Burley, Washington
  2. 1.7 2 km WNW of Federal Way, Washington
  3. 1.7 4 km SW of Kapowsin, Washington
  4. 1.6 13 km SE of Carbonado, Washington
  5. 1.9 1 km WNW of Bonney Lake, Washington
  6. 1.5 1 km N of White Center, Washington
  7. 2.0 0 km WNW of Bonney Lake, Washington
  8. 1.6 5 km NNE of Dash Point, Washington
  9. 1.6 3 km SW of Bethel, Washington
  10. 2.2 4 km SE of Orting, Washington
  11. 1.9 7 km ENE of Ashford, Washington
  12. 2.4 4 km W of Burley, Washington
  13. 1.6 3 km WNW of Vashon, Washington
  14. 1.6 0 km SSW of Beaux Arts Village, Washington
  15. 1.6 8 km ESE of Enumclaw, 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.