QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Elk Plain, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Elk Plain in the 24 hours to 12:28 am PST (08:28 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 46 km (28 mi) NNW, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Elk Plain

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 2 km (2 mi) southwest of Elk Plain, WA, at 7:13 pm PST on 14 December 2020 (03:13 UTC), 29 km deep.

USGS: 2 km SW of Elk Plain, Washington

65 km (40 mi) S of Seattle, WA · 16 km (10 mi) SSE of Lakewood, WA

7:13 pm PST, Dec 14, 2020 · · 29 km deep · released about 6.6 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Elk Plain Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Pierce County 20 kmThurston County 33 kmLewis County 51 kmMason County 67 kmKing County 67 kmKitsap County 69 kmCowlitz County 96 kmGrays Harbor County 107 kmWahkiakum County 113 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
7:13 pm PST on 14 December 2020 ()
Where
2 km (2 mi) southwest of Elk Plain, WA · earthquakes near Elk Plain
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
29 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Pierce County, 20 km E
Nearest mapped fault
Tacoma fault, 23 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 2158 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 Elk Plain, 2 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: Spanaway, Frederickson, Graham, McChord Air Force Base, Summit View, Parkland.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.6 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 2,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.6 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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

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 · 26 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.7 4 km WNW of Roy, Washington · 14 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 6.7 1 km ENE of Dash Point, Washington · 32 km N of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 Puget Sound region, Washington · 47 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 Puget Sound area, Washington · 45 km NW 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 47.0388, -122.4222. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Pierce County, WA 20 km (13 mi) E earthquakes near Pierce County
Thurston County, WA 33 km (21 mi) WSW earthquakes near Thurston County
Lewis County, WA 51 km (32 mi) S earthquakes near Lewis County
Mason County, WA 67 km (41 mi) WNW earthquakes near Mason County
King County, WA 67 km (42 mi) NE earthquakes near King County
Kitsap County, WA 69 km (43 mi) NNW earthquakes near Kitsap County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 1 km NNE of Lakewood, Washington
  2. 1.9 2 km NE of Tanglewilde-Thompson Place, Washington
  3. 2.0 13 km WSW of Longbranch, Washington
  4. 2.0 6 km NE of Ashford, Washington
  5. 1.9 6 km NE of Ashford, Washington
  6. 2.3 6 km NE of Ashford, Washington
  7. 1.9 14 km WSW of Alder, Washington
  8. 1.5 2 km WNW of Gig Harbor, Washington
  9. 1.6 6 km SW of Des Moines, Washington
  10. 1.5 7 km ENE of Allyn, Washington
  11. 1.6 6 km WSW of La Grande, Washington
  12. 1.7 7 km ESE of Ashford, Washington
  13. 1.6 7 km ESE of Ashford, Washington
  14. 2.3 14 km NNE of Ashford, Washington
  15. 1.8 14 km NNE of Ashford, 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.