QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Artondale, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Artondale in the 24 hours to 9:25 am PST (17:25 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded in Artondale, WA, at 11:50 am PST on 6 November 2020 (19:50 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 1 km NE of Artondale, Washington

13 km (8 mi) WNW of Tacoma, WA · 40 km (25 mi) SSW of Seattle, WA

11:50 am PST, Nov 6, 2020 · · -0.4 km deep · released about 7.6 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Artondale Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kitsap County 37 kmMason County 43 kmPierce County 45 kmThurston County 45 kmKing County 62 kmLewis County 83 kmJefferson County 89 kmGrays Harbor County 95 kmIsland County 95 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
11:50 am PST on 6 November 2020 ()
Where
in Artondale, WA · earthquakes near Artondale
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
-0.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kitsap County, 37 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 2198 days ago

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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Artondale in town, intensity II · University Place 9 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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 5,400 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 · 15 km E of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 Puget Sound region, Washington · 15 km NW of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 Puget Sound area, Washington · 22 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 47.3078, -122.6065. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kitsap County, WA 37 km (23 mi) N earthquakes near Kitsap County
Mason County, WA 43 km (27 mi) W earthquakes near Mason County
Pierce County, WA 45 km (28 mi) SE earthquakes near Pierce County
Thurston County, WA 45 km (28 mi) SSW earthquakes near Thurston County
King County, WA 62 km (38 mi) ENE earthquakes near King County
Lewis County, WA 83 km (51 mi) SSE earthquakes near Lewis County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 1 km SW of East Port Orchard, Washington
  2. 1.5 1 km N of Boulevard Park, Washington
  3. 1.7 7 km WNW of Burley, Washington
  4. 1.7 1 km NNE of Tracyton, Washington
  5. 1.7 1 km WNW of Bonney Lake, Washington
  6. 1.6 0 km N of Boulevard Park, Washington
  7. 2.8 0 km S of Boulevard Park, Washington
  8. 2.1 0 km SSW of Boulevard Park, Washington
  9. 1.6 0 km WSW of Boulevard Park, Washington
  10. 1.6 0 km NW of Boulevard Park, Washington
  11. 1.8 3 km WNW of Navy Yard City, Washington
  12. 2.0 4 km E of Home, Washington
  13. 1.6 12 km S of Shelton, Washington
  14. 1.6 0 km WSW of Parkwood, Washington
  15. 2.5 1 km NE of Enetai, 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.