QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Lea Hill, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Lea Hill in the 24 hours to 12:09 am PST (08:09 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 42 km (26 mi) WNW, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Lea Hill

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) southeast of Lea Hill, WA, at 4:37 am PDT on 15 July 2018 (11:37 UTC), 24 km deep.

USGS: 5 km SE of Lea Hill, Washington

6 km (3 mi) ESE of Auburn, WA · 40 km (25 mi) SSE of Seattle, WA

4:37 am PDT, Jul 15, 2018 · · 24 km deep · released about 38 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Lea Hill Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Pierce County 26 kmKing County 32 kmKitsap County 55 kmThurston County 65 kmMason County 78 kmLewis County 81 kmSnohomish County 90 kmIsland County 105 kmKittitas County 112 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
4:37 am PDT on 15 July 2018 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) southeast of Lea Hill, WA · earthquakes near Lea Hill
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
24 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Pierce County, 26 km S
Nearest mapped fault
Tacoma fault, 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 2964 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 Lea Hill, 5 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: Lake Morton-Berrydale, Auburn, Covington, Algona, Pacific, Black Diamond.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 38 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 5.8 390,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 280,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 25× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 38 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 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.8 The 2001 Nisqually, Washington Earthquake · 47 km WSW of this epicentre
  2. 6.7 4 km WNW of Roy, Washington · 46 km SW of this epicentre
  3. 6.7 1 km ENE of Dash Point, Washington · 21 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 Puget Sound region, Washington · 48 km WNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 3 km WSW of Des Moines, Washington · 20 km WNW 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 47.2877, -122.1400. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Pierce County, WA 26 km (16 mi) S earthquakes near Pierce County
King County, WA 32 km (20 mi) NE earthquakes near King County
Kitsap County, WA 55 km (34 mi) NW earthquakes near Kitsap County
Thurston County, WA 65 km (41 mi) SW earthquakes near Thurston County
Mason County, WA 78 km (49 mi) W earthquakes near Mason County
Lewis County, WA 81 km (50 mi) SSW earthquakes near Lewis County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 10 km ESE of Enumclaw, Washington
  2. 2.3 0 km ESE of Riverton, Washington
  3. 1.9 11 km ESE of Enumclaw, Washington
  4. 1.9 1 km WNW of DuPont, Washington
  5. 1.9 0 km SE of Normandy Park, Washington
  6. 1.8 1 km NE of Normandy Park, Washington
  7. 1.6 0 km E of Normandy Park, Washington
  8. 2.3 1 km NNE of Enetai, Washington
  9. 1.6 3 km W of Federal Way, Washington
  10. 1.6 11 km W of Greenwater, Washington
  11. 1.7 8 km SSW of Wilderness Rim, Washington
  12. 2.6 8 km SSW of Wilderness Rim, Washington
  13. 2.0 10 km ENE of Fall City, Washington
  14. 1.8 1 km E of Browns Point, Washington
  15. 1.8 13 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.