QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Artondale, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Artondale in the 24 hours to 7:17 am PST (15:17 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 14 km (8 mi) NW, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Artondale

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded in Artondale, WA, at 5:03 pm PST on 7 December 2019 (01:03 UTC), 31 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 1 km NNW of Artondale, Washington

14 km (9 mi) WNW of Tacoma, WA · 40 km (25 mi) SSW of Seattle, WA

5:03 pm PST, Dec 7, 2019 · · 31 km deep · released about 40 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Artondale Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kitsap County 36 kmMason County 41 kmThurston County 45 kmPierce County 46 kmKing County 63 kmLewis County 84 kmJefferson County 87 kmGrays Harbor County 93 kmIsland County 94 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
5:03 pm PST on 7 December 2019 ()
Where
in Artondale, WA · earthquakes near Artondale
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
31 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity I
Nearest
Kitsap County, 36 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Tacoma fault, 4 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 2527 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. 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: Rosedale, Gig Harbor, Wollochet, Fox Island, Wauna, Canterwood.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 40 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 5.8 380,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 270,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 24× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 40 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 1,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.8 The 2001 Nisqually, Washington Earthquake · 20 km SSW of this epicentre
  2. 6.7 4 km WNW of Roy, Washington · 33 km S of this epicentre
  3. 6.7 1 km ENE of Dash Point, Washington · 16 km E of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 Puget Sound region, Washington · 14 km NW of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 Puget Sound area, Washington · 21 km W 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 47.3123, -122.6275. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kitsap County, WA 36 km (23 mi) N earthquakes near Kitsap County
Mason County, WA 41 km (26 mi) W earthquakes near Mason County
Thurston County, WA 45 km (28 mi) SSW earthquakes near Thurston County
Pierce County, WA 46 km (29 mi) SE earthquakes near Pierce County
King County, WA 63 km (39 mi) ENE earthquakes near King County
Lewis County, WA 84 km (52 mi) SSE earthquakes near Lewis County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 2 km NNW of Manchester, Washington
  2. 2.2 1 km E of Enetai, Washington
  3. 1.9 0 km N of Vaughn, Washington
  4. 1.5 5 km W of Gorst, Washington
  5. 2.4 0 km NE of Enetai, Washington
  6. 2.0 2 km NE of Enetai, Washington
  7. 1.7 3 km SW of Bainbridge Island, Washington
  8. 1.6 2 km SSE of Bainbridge Island, Washington
  9. 1.5 2 km NE of Enetai, Washington
  10. 1.6 3 km SSW of Bainbridge Island, Washington
  11. 1.9 1 km ENE of Enetai, Washington
  12. 3.2 0 km NNE of Enetai, Washington
  13. 1.6 2 km SW of Elk Plain, Washington
  14. 1.5 5 km WSW of Shelton, Washington
  15. 1.7 5 km W of Burley, 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.