QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7ml

Earthquake near Darrington, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Darrington in the 24 hours to 4:04 pm PST (00:04 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 74 km (46 mi) W, at 11:35 pm PDT on 1 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2,030 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Darrington

This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) west-northwest of Darrington, WA, at 2:56 am PDT on 7 April 2020 (09:56 UTC), 15 km deep. 19 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 4 km E of Swede Heaven, Washington

89 km (55 mi) NE of Seattle, WA · 42 km (26 mi) ENE of Marysville, WA

2:56 am PDT, Apr 7, 2020 · · 15 km deep · released about 330 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Snohomish County 26 kmSkagit County 27 kmWhatcom County 64 kmIsland County 76 kmKing County 88 kmChelan County 90 kmKitsap County 102 kmSan Juan County 109 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
2:56 am PDT on 7 April 2020 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) west-northwest of Darrington, WA · earthquakes near Darrington
Magnitude
M 2.7 (ml)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
19 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Measured shaking
intensity II (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Snohomish County, 26 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2032 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In Darrington, 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.

Likely felt in: Darrington 5 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 330 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 46,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 33,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 330 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 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.6 Near Marblemount, Washington · 32 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 4 km ENE of Machias, Washington · 40 km SW 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 48.2768, -121.6648. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Snohomish County, WA 26 km (16 mi) SSW earthquakes near Snohomish County
Skagit County, WA 27 km (16 mi) NNW earthquakes near Skagit County
Whatcom County, WA 64 km (40 mi) NNW earthquakes near Whatcom County
Island County, WA 76 km (47 mi) W earthquakes near Island County
King County, WA 88 km (55 mi) S earthquakes near King County
Chelan County, WA 90 km (56 mi) ESE earthquakes near Chelan County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.8 9 km NNE of Hamilton, Washington
  2. 1.6 1 km WNW of Lake Cavanaugh, Washington
  3. 1.9 9 km NNE of Hamilton, Washington
  4. 2.3 9 km NNE of Hamilton, Washington
  5. 1.6 2 km ENE of Granite Falls, Washington
  6. 1.7 5 km NNE of Oso, Washington
  7. 2.2 6 km NE of Oso, Washington
  8. 1.7 3 km ENE of Granite Falls, Washington
  9. 1.8 5 km SW of Lake Cavanaugh, Washington
  10. 2.2 8 km NE of Oso, Washington
  11. 1.9 2 km SSW of Hamilton, Washington
  12. 2.1 4 km SSW of Hamilton, Washington
  13. 2.2 5 km E of Big Lake, Washington
  14. 1.7 6 km ENE of Lake Roesiger, Washington
  15. 1.7 1 km NNE of Woods Creek, 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.