QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near South Hill, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in South Hill in the 24 hours to 11:17 pm PST (07:17 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 1.5 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) east-southeast of South Hill, WA, at 9:45 pm PST on 25 November 2023 (05:45 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 2 km NW of Carbonado, Washington

62 km (39 mi) SSE of Seattle, WA · 25 km (16 mi) SSE of Auburn, WA

9:45 pm PST, Nov 25, 2023 · · 11 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near South Hill Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Pierce County 8 kmKing County 47 kmThurston County 60 kmLewis County 62 kmKitsap County 75 kmMason County 88 kmKittitas County 106 kmSnohomish County 109 kmCowlitz County 110 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
9:45 pm PST on 25 November 2023 ()
Where
16 km (10 mi) east-southeast of South Hill, WA · earthquakes near South Hill
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Pierce County, 8 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
Tacoma fault, 19 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 1029 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 South Hill, 16 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: Crocker, Prairie Heights, Prairie Ridge, Buckley, Orting, Bonney Lake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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. 6.8 The 2001 Nisqually, Washington Earthquake · 50 km W of this epicentre
  2. 6.7 4 km WNW of Roy, Washington · 41 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 6.7 1 km ENE of Dash Point, Washington · 36 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 3 km WSW of Des Moines, Washington · 39 km NW 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 47.0950, -122.0717. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Pierce County, WA 8 km (5 mi) SW earthquakes near Pierce County
King County, WA 47 km (30 mi) NNE earthquakes near King County
Thurston County, WA 60 km (37 mi) WSW earthquakes near Thurston County
Lewis County, WA 62 km (38 mi) SSW earthquakes near Lewis County
Kitsap County, WA 75 km (46 mi) NW earthquakes near Kitsap County
Mason County, WA 88 km (55 mi) WNW earthquakes near Mason 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. 1.7 7 km S of Crocker, Washington
  2. 1.7 7 km SSE of McKenna, Washington
  3. 1.7 2 km SE of Kapowsin, Washington
  4. 1.6 12 km ESE of Enumclaw, Washington
  5. 2.2 13 km NNE of Ashford, Washington
  6. 1.5 1 km SSE of Kapowsin, Washington
  7. 1.9 5 km E of Enumclaw, Washington
  8. 1.6 1 km WNW of Kapowsin, Washington
  9. 1.6 24 km NNE of Packwood, Washington
  10. 1.5 5 km WSW of Black Diamond, Washington
  11. 1.7 1 km WSW of Burien, Washington
  12. 1.9 3 km SE of Fife, Washington
  13. 1.5 2 km ESE of Buckley, Washington
  14. 1.7 0 km WSW of Kapowsin, Washington
  15. 1.7 12 km E of Wilkeson, 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.