QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near White Center, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in White Center in the 24 hours to 6:21 am PST (14:21 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 31 km (19 mi) WSW, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near White Center

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) north of White Center, WA, at 9:20 am PDT on 23 April 2023 (16:20 UTC), 33 km deep.

USGS: 3 km N of White Center, Washington

8 km (5 mi) S of Seattle, WA · 8 km (5 mi) N of Burien, WA

9:20 am PDT, Apr 23, 2023 · · 33 km deep · released about 33 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near White Center Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kitsap County 25 kmKing County 39 kmPierce County 57 kmMason County 66 kmSnohomish County 71 kmIsland County 72 kmThurston County 77 kmJefferson County 93 kmLewis 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
9:20 am PDT on 23 April 2023 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) north of White Center, WA · earthquakes near White Center
Magnitude
M 2.0 (ml)
Depth
33 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kitsap County, 25 km WNW
Nearest mapped fault
Seattle fault, 3 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 674 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 White Center, 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: Boulevard Park, Columbia City, Seattle, Riverton, Burien, Mercer Island.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 33 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 450,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 320,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 29× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 33 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 6,700 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.7 1 km ENE of Dash Point, Washington · 25 km S of this epicentre
  2. 6.1 Puget Sound region, Washington · 35 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.4 8 km NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 42 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 9 km NE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 45 km ENE of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 3 km WSW of Des Moines, Washington · 18 km S 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 47.5472, -122.3462. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kitsap County, WA 25 km (16 mi) WNW earthquakes near Kitsap County
King County, WA 39 km (24 mi) E earthquakes near King County
Pierce County, WA 57 km (35 mi) SSE earthquakes near Pierce County
Mason County, WA 66 km (41 mi) WSW earthquakes near Mason County
Snohomish County, WA 71 km (44 mi) NE earthquakes near Snohomish County
Island County, WA 72 km (45 mi) NNW earthquakes near Island 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. 1.7 3 km N of West Lake Sammamish, Washington
  2. 1.6 2 km W of City of Sammamish, Washington
  3. 1.6 1 km NE of Mirrormont, Washington
  4. 1.9 5 km SSE of Seattle, Washington
  5. 1.9 10 km NE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington
  6. 1.6 2 km W of Clinton, Washington
  7. 1.8 4 km SSE of Seabeck, Washington
  8. 2.1 3 km ENE of East Renton Highlands, Washington
  9. 1.6 2 km NNE of Lea Hill, Washington
  10. 2.4 8 km SSW of Sultan, Washington
  11. 2.1 1 km NW of Meadowdale, Washington
  12. 1.7 4 km WNW of Vashon, Washington
  13. 1.7 1 km WNW of Chico, Washington
  14. 1.7 5 km SSW of Port Ludlow, Washington
  15. 3.0 1 km NE of Gorst, 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.