Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.2ml
Earthquake near Carnation, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Carnation in the 24 hours to 3:51 pm PST (23:51 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 67 km (41 mi) WSW, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Carnation
This page: a magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded in Carnation, WA, at 4:51 pm PDT on 9 August 2021 (23:51 UTC), 17 km deep. 4 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 1 km NNE of Carnation, Washington
12 km (8 mi) NE of Sammamish, WA · 34 km (21 mi) E of Seattle, WA
- When
- 4:51 pm PDT on 9 August 2021 ()
- Where
- in Carnation, WA · earthquakes near Carnation
- Magnitude
- M 2.2 (ml)
- Depth
- 17 km below the surface
- Felt
- 4 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- King County, 20 km SSE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Southern Whidbey Island fault, 2 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 1531 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Carnation, WA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Carnation, WA. No account or email needed.
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 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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Ames Lake, Union Hill-Novelty Hill, Fall City, Duvall, City of Sammamish.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 54 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 280,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 200,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 18× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.2 about 54 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 4,100 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.4 8 km NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 11 km N of this epicentre
- 5.2 9 km NE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 11 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.0 4 km ENE of Machias, Washington · 38 km N of this epicentre
- 5.0 3 km WSW of Des Moines, Washington · 46 km SW 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 47.6598, -121.9040. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| King County, WA | 20 km (12 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near King County |
| Snohomish County, WA | 45 km (28 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Snohomish County |
| Kitsap County, WA | 56 km (35 mi) | W | earthquakes near Kitsap County |
| Pierce County, WA | 70 km (44 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Pierce County |
| Island County, WA | 80 km (49 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Island County |
| Skagit County, WA | 93 km (58 mi) | N | earthquakes near Skagit County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
60 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 3 km NNW of Picnic Point, Washington
- 1.6 4 km NE of Granite Falls, Washington
- 1.5 5 km SW of Des Moines, Washington
- 1.8 5 km SW of Des Moines, Washington
- 1.6 6 km SW of Sultan, Washington
- 1.6 Washington
- 1.6 Puget Sound region, Washington
- 1.5 Washington
- 1.5 Washington
- 1.8 2 km SSE of Lake Forest Park, Washington
- 2.0 Washington
- 3.1 6 km SSE of Black Diamond, Washington
- 1.7 4 km E of Granite Falls, Washington
- 1.9 4 km E of Granite Falls, Washington
- 1.9 2 km E of Union Hill-Novelty Hill, 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.