QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near South Hill, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in South Hill in the 24 hours to 9:38 am PST (17:38 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 45 km (28 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 South Hill

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 40 km (25 mi) south-southeast of South Hill, WA, at 11:27 am PDT on 17 June 2021 (18:27 UTC), 1.3 km deep.

USGS: 6 km NNW of Ashford, Washington

92 km (57 mi) SSE of Seattle, WA · 53 km (33 mi) SE of Lakewood, WA

11:27 am PDT, Jun 17, 2021 · · 1.3 km deep · released about 6.8 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near South Hill Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Pierce County 27 kmLewis County 36 kmThurston County 60 kmKing County 77 kmCowlitz County 84 kmSkamania County 88 kmKitsap County 102 kmMason County 103 kmYakima County 108 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
11:27 am PDT on 17 June 2021 ()
Where
40 km (25 mi) south-southeast of South Hill, WA · earthquakes near South Hill
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
1.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Pierce County, 27 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1974 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. In South Hill, 40 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: Eatonville, Crocker.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.8 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 2,200,000× 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 6.8 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 one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.7 4 km WNW of Roy, Washington · 47 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 46.8150, -122.0565. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Pierce County, WA 27 km (17 mi) NNW earthquakes near Pierce County
Lewis County, WA 36 km (22 mi) SW earthquakes near Lewis County
Thurston County, WA 60 km (37 mi) WNW earthquakes near Thurston County
King County, WA 77 km (48 mi) NNE earthquakes near King County
Cowlitz County, WA 84 km (52 mi) SW earthquakes near Cowlitz County
Skamania County, WA 88 km (55 mi) S earthquakes near Skamania County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 25 km ENE of Ashford, Washington
  2. 2.1 24 km ENE of Ashford, Washington
  3. 1.6 5 km SW of Packwood, Washington
  4. 2.0 7 km NE of Ashford, Washington
  5. 1.6 18 km N of Mossyrock, Washington
  6. 2.1 7 km NE of Ashford, Washington
  7. 1.6 1 km WNW of Kapowsin, Washington
  8. 1.9 10 km ENE of Ashford, Washington
  9. 1.7 2 km WNW of Kapowsin, Washington
  10. 1.6 16 km NNE of Ashford, Washington
  11. 2.3 15 km NNE of Ashford, Washington
  12. 1.6 2 km ESE of Kapowsin, Washington
  13. 1.9 12 km NNE of Ashford, Washington
  14. 3.1 6 km SSE of Black Diamond, Washington
  15. 1.6 23 km ENE 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.