Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1ml
Earthquake near South Hill, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in South Hill in the 24 hours to 11:32 am PST (19:32 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 45 km (28 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 South Hill
This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 38 km (24 mi) southeast of South Hill, WA, at 12:17 am PST on 28 January 2020 (08:17 UTC), 8.2 km deep.
USGS: 15 km NNE of Ashford, Washington
88 km (54 mi) SSE of Seattle, WA · 51 km (32 mi) SSE of Auburn, WA
- When
- 12:17 am PST on 28 January 2020 ()
- Where
- 38 km (24 mi) southeast of South Hill, WA · earthquakes near South Hill
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 8.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Pierce County, 25 km NW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2481 days ago
Earthquake alerts for South Hill, WA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near South Hill, WA. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 16 km (10 mi) from the epicentre. In South Hill, 38 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: Eatonville, Crocker.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 49 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 310,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 220,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 19× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 49 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 since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.
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 46.8825, -121.9370. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pierce County, WA | 25 km (15 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Pierce County |
| Lewis County, WA | 48 km (30 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Lewis County |
| King County, WA | 68 km (42 mi) | N | earthquakes near King County |
| Thurston County, WA | 68 km (42 mi) | W | earthquakes near Thurston County |
| Cowlitz County, WA | 95 km (59 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Cowlitz County |
| Skamania County, WA | 95 km (59 mi) | S | earthquakes near Skamania 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.
- 1.9 2 km SE of Ravensdale, Washington
- 1.7 1 km WNW of Bonney Lake, Washington
- 1.5 14 km NNE of Ashford, Washington
- 2.1 9 km NNE of Mossyrock, Washington
- 1.6 23 km ENE of Ashford, Washington
- 1.6 6 km NNW of Ashford, Washington
- 1.5 13 km W of Greenwater, Washington
- 1.6 22 km ENE of Ashford, Washington
- 1.6 2 km SSE of Kapowsin, Washington
- 1.9 8 km NE of Ashford, Washington
- 1.6 24 km ENE of Ashford, Washington
- 1.6 2 km SSW of Kapowsin, Washington
- 1.6 13 km W of Greenwater, Washington
- 1.6 0 km ESE of Buckley, Washington
- 2.3 4 km SE of Black Diamond, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.