Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9ml
Earthquake near Morton, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Morton in the 24 hours to 8:02 pm PST (04:02 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 100 km (62 mi) NNW, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Morton
This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) northwest of Morton, WA, at 11:02 pm PST on 22 December 2022 (07:02 UTC), 17 km deep. 8 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 12 km NW of Morton, Washington
55 km (34 mi) SE of Lacey, WA · 109 km (68 mi) S of Seattle, WA
- When
- 11:02 pm PST on 22 December 2022 ()
- Where
- 13 km (8 mi) northwest of Morton, WA · earthquakes near Morton
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 17 km below the surface
- Felt
- 8 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Measured shaking
- intensity II (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Lewis County, 7 km S
- Nearest mapped fault
- Olympia structure, 25 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 998 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Morton, WA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Morton, 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 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 26 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Morton, 13 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: Morton 13 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 650 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 23,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.5× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 650 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 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 4 km WNW of Roy, Washington · 45 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.2 23 km S of Morton, Washington · 34 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.1 Washington · 49 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.1 38 km S of Morton, Washington · 50 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.1 38 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 50 km SSE 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 46.6388, -122.3917. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis County, WA | 7 km (4 mi) | S | earthquakes near Lewis County |
| Thurston County, WA | 47 km (29 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Thurston County |
| Pierce County, WA | 49 km (31 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Pierce County |
| Cowlitz County, WA | 54 km (33 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Cowlitz County |
| Skamania County, WA | 76 km (47 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Skamania County |
| Wahkiakum County, WA | 88 km (55 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Wahkiakum County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
54 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 10 km SSE of Toledo, Washington
- 1.8 34 km NNE of Amboy, Washington
- 2.4 13 km NNE of Ashford, Washington
- 1.6 2 km ESE of Kapowsin, Washington
- 1.7 11 km NNE of Ashford, Washington
- 2.8 10 km NNE of Ashford, Washington
- 1.7 33 km NNE of Amboy, Washington
- 3.0 33 km NNE of Amboy, Washington
- 2.0 10 km NNE of Ashford, Washington
- 2.2 10 km NNE of Ashford, Washington
- 1.6 14 km NNE of Ashford, Washington
- 1.8 8 km SSW of Morton, Washington
- 1.5 21 km SE of Morton, Washington
- 1.7 6 km S of Onalaska, Washington
- 1.5 10 km NNE 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
- 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.