QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3ml

Earthquake near Hobart, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Hobart in the 24 hours to 12:23 am PST (08:23 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 11 km (7 mi) E, at 6:09 pm PDT on 14 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 46 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Hobart

This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) west of Hobart, WA, at 9:26 pm PDT on 21 April 2023 (04:26 UTC), 29 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 3 km W of Hobart, Washington

34 km (21 mi) SE of Seattle, WA · 15 km (9 mi) ESE of Renton, WA

9:26 pm PDT, Apr 21, 2023 · · 29 km deep · released about 82 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N King County 16 kmPierce County 42 kmKitsap County 54 kmSnohomish County 73 kmThurston County 82 kmMason County 88 kmIsland County 96 kmLewis County 97 kmKittitas 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
9:26 pm PDT on 21 April 2023 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) west of Hobart, WA · earthquakes near Hobart
Magnitude
M 2.3 (ml)
Depth
29 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
King County, 16 km ENE
Nearest mapped fault
Seattle fault, 6 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 675 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 Hobart, 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: Maple Valley, Mirrormont, Maple Heights-Lake Desire, Ravensdale, East Renton Highlands, Covington.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 82 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 12× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 82 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 WSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.4 8 km NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 39 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 9 km NE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 39 km NNE of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 3 km WSW of Des Moines, Washington · 26 km W 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 47.4192, -122.0152. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
King County, WA 16 km (10 mi) ENE earthquakes near King County
Pierce County, WA 42 km (26 mi) SSW earthquakes near Pierce County
Kitsap County, WA 54 km (33 mi) WNW earthquakes near Kitsap County
Snohomish County, WA 73 km (45 mi) NNE earthquakes near Snohomish County
Thurston County, WA 82 km (51 mi) SW earthquakes near Thurston County
Mason County, WA 88 km (54 mi) W earthquakes near Mason County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 2 km WNW of Mirrormont, Washington
  2. 1.6 12 km ESE of Enumclaw, Washington
  3. 3.4 13 km E of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington
  4. 1.9 7 km NE of Fall City, Washington
  5. 1.6 2 km SSW of Mirrormont, Washington
  6. 2.0 1 km SSE of Dash Point, Washington
  7. 1.7 1 km E of White Center, Washington
  8. 1.6 4 km E of Duvall, Washington
  9. 2.3 2 km E of Issaquah, Washington
  10. 2.0 7 km ENE of Fall City, Washington
  11. 2.6 1 km SSW of Burien, Washington
  12. 1.7 3 km N of West Lake Sammamish, Washington
  13. 1.6 2 km W of City of Sammamish, Washington
  14. 1.6 1 km NE of Mirrormont, Washington
  15. 1.9 5 km SSE of Seattle, 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.