QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near Black Diamond, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Black Diamond in the 24 hours to 11:55 pm PST (07:55 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 55 km (34 mi) W, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Black Diamond

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) northeast of Black Diamond, WA, at 8:50 pm PST on 19 December 2020 (04:50 UTC), 19 km deep.

USGS: 2 km NE of Black Diamond, Washington

43 km (27 mi) SE of Seattle, WA · 17 km (11 mi) E of Auburn, WA

8:50 pm PST, Dec 19, 2020 · · 19 km deep · released about 26 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Black Diamond Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N King County 21 kmPierce County 33 kmKitsap County 61 kmThurston County 78 kmSnohomish County 82 kmLewis County 88 kmMason County 90 kmKittitas County 101 kmIsland County 106 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
8:50 pm PST on 19 December 2020 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) northeast of Black Diamond, WA · earthquakes near Black Diamond
Magnitude
M 2.0 (ml)
Depth
19 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
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 2151 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 Black Diamond, 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Ravensdale, Maple Valley, Lake Morton-Berrydale, Hobart, Covington, Enumclaw.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 26 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 580,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 410,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 36× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 26 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:

  1. 6.7 1 km ENE of Dash Point, Washington · 32 km W of this epicentre
  2. 5.4 8 km NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 49 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 9 km NE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 48 km NNE of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 3 km WSW of Des Moines, Washington · 30 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 47.3280, -121.9822. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection 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 78 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

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

  1. 2.2 1 km NNE of Carnation, Washington
  2. 1.8 12 km W of Greenwater, Washington
  3. 1.5 1 km N of Boulevard Park, Washington
  4. 1.9 2 km SE of Ravensdale, 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. 2.2 2 km SSE of Carnation, Washington
  10. 1.6 0 km WSW of Boulevard Park, Washington
  11. 1.9 13 km S of May Creek, Washington
  12. 1.6 0 km NW of Boulevard Park, Washington
  13. 1.5 1 km SSW of Carnation, Washington
  14. 1.5 13 km W of Greenwater, Washington
  15. 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.