Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.8ml
Earthquake near Ravensdale, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Ravensdale in the 24 hours to 9:18 am PST (17:18 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 14 km (9 mi) ENE, at 6:09 pm PDT on 14 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 46 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Ravensdale
This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) south of Ravensdale, WA, at 8:35 pm PST on 19 December 2020 (04:35 UTC), 20 km deep. 17 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 2 km S of Ravensdale, Washington
42 km (26 mi) SE of Seattle, WA · 17 km (11 mi) E of Auburn, WA
- When
- 8:35 pm PST on 19 December 2020 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) south of Ravensdale, WA · earthquakes near Ravensdale
- Magnitude
- M 2.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 20 km below the surface
- Felt
- 17 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- King County, 21 km NNE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Rattlesnake Mountain fault, 14 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 2085 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Ravensdale, WA
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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 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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Ravensdale, 3 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: Maple Valley 8 km, intensity II · Enumclaw 14 km, intensity II · East Hill-Meridian 17 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 430 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 35,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 25,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.2× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.8 about 430 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 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.7 1 km ENE of Dash Point, Washington · 32 km W of this epicentre
- 5.4 8 km NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 49 km N of this epicentre
- 5.2 9 km NE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 48 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.0 3 km WSW of Des Moines, Washington · 29 km WNW 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 47.3297, -121.9868. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| King County, WA | 21 km (13 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near King County |
| Pierce County, WA | 33 km (21 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Pierce County |
| Kitsap County, WA | 61 km (38 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Kitsap County |
| Thurston County, WA | 77 km (48 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Thurston County |
| Snohomish County, WA | 82 km (51 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Snohomish County |
| Lewis County, WA | 88 km (55 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Lewis County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
58 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.2 1 km NNE of Carnation, Washington
- 1.8 12 km W of Greenwater, Washington
- 1.5 1 km N of Boulevard Park, Washington
- 1.9 2 km SE of Ravensdale, Washington
- 1.7 1 km WNW of Bonney Lake, Washington
- 1.6 0 km N of Boulevard Park, Washington
- 2.8 0 km S of Boulevard Park, Washington
- 2.1 0 km SSW of Boulevard Park, Washington
- 2.2 2 km SSE of Carnation, Washington
- 1.6 0 km WSW of Boulevard Park, Washington
- 1.9 13 km S of May Creek, Washington
- 1.6 0 km NW of Boulevard Park, Washington
- 1.5 1 km SSW of Carnation, Washington
- 1.5 13 km W of Greenwater, Washington
- 1.5 3 km NE of Fall City, 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.