QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5ml

Earthquake near Carnation, WA

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Carnation in the last 24 hours. M 2.0, 3 km (2 mi) NE of Carnation, at 8:48 am PST on 11 November 2026 (16:48 UTC); the estimated shaking in Carnation was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Carnation

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 17 km (11 mi) east of Carnation, WA, at 8:37 pm PDT on 28 April 2021 (03:37 UTC), 8.4 km deep. 76 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 17 km E of Carnation, Washington

50 km (31 mi) E of Seattle, WA · 28 km (17 mi) ENE of Sammamish, WA

8:37 pm PDT, Apr 28, 2021 · · 8.4 km deep · released about 180 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N King County 22 kmSnohomish County 44 kmKitsap County 72 kmPierce County 77 kmChelan County 83 kmIsland County 92 kmSkagit County 93 kmKittitas County 97 kmMason County 117 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
8:37 pm PDT on 28 April 2021 ()
Where
17 km (11 mi) east of Carnation, WA · earthquakes near Carnation
Magnitude
M 2.5 (ml)
Depth
8.4 km below the surface
Felt
76 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Measured shaking
intensity III (ShakeMap)
Nearest
King County, 22 km SSW
Nearest mapped fault
Southern Whidbey Island 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 1954 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 Carnation, 17 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: Snoqualmie 18 km, intensity II · Fall City 19 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 180 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 86,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 61,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 180 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 4.6 on 2019-07-12 — about 1,300 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.4 8 km NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 18 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 9 km NE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 15 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 4 km ENE of Machias, Washington · 44 km NNW 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 47.6635, -121.6842. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
King County, WA 22 km (14 mi) SSW earthquakes near King County
Snohomish County, WA 44 km (27 mi) N earthquakes near Snohomish County
Kitsap County, WA 72 km (45 mi) W earthquakes near Kitsap County
Pierce County, WA 77 km (48 mi) SSW earthquakes near Pierce County
Chelan County, WA 83 km (51 mi) ENE earthquakes near Chelan County
Island County, WA 92 km (57 mi) NW earthquakes near Island County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 Washington
  2. 2.0 Washington
  3. 3.1 6 km SSE of Black Diamond, Washington
  4. 1.7 4 km E of Granite Falls, Washington
  5. 1.9 2 km E of Union Hill-Novelty Hill, Washington
  6. 1.8 1 km W of Redmond, Washington
  7. 1.6 11 km SSW of Gold Bar, Washington
  8. 2.4 7 km ENE of Fall City, Washington
  9. 2.0 7 km NE of Fall City, Washington
  10. 2.0 3 km SE of Issaquah, Washington
  11. 1.6 1 km SW of Bothell East, Washington
  12. 1.8 1 km SW of Monroe North, Washington
  13. 1.9 Washington
  14. 1.5 5 km NNE of Duvall, Washington
  15. 2.2 1 km NNE of Cathcart, 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.