QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4ml

Earthquake near South Hill, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in South Hill in the 24 hours to 3:28 am PST (11:28 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 2.4 earthquake was recorded 49 km (31 mi) south-southwest of South Hill, WA, at 11:50 pm PDT on 25 March 2024 (06:50 UTC), 15 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 14 km SW of Alder, Washington

47 km (29 mi) SE of Lacey, WA · 101 km (63 mi) S of Seattle, WA

11:50 pm PDT, Mar 25, 2024 · · 15 km deep · released about 100 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lewis County 15 kmThurston County 40 kmPierce County 43 kmCowlitz County 61 kmSkamania County 84 kmWahkiakum County 90 kmMason County 91 kmKing County 97 kmColumbia County 99 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
11:50 pm PDT on 25 March 2024 ()
Where
49 km (31 mi) south-southwest of South Hill, WA · earthquakes near South Hill
Magnitude
M 2.4 (ml)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity I
Nearest
Lewis County, 15 km SSE
Nearest mapped fault
Olympia structure, 17 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 895 days ago

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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In South Hill, 49 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: Morton, Eatonville, Rainier, Yelm.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 100 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 150,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 110,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 9.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 100 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 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.7 4 km WNW of Roy, Washington · 36 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 23 km S of Morton, Washington · 43 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 46.7107, -122.4188. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lewis County, WA 15 km (9 mi) SSE earthquakes near Lewis County
Thurston County, WA 40 km (25 mi) NW earthquakes near Thurston County
Pierce County, WA 43 km (27 mi) NNE earthquakes near Pierce County
Cowlitz County, WA 61 km (38 mi) SSW earthquakes near Cowlitz County
Skamania County, WA 84 km (52 mi) SSE earthquakes near Skamania County
Wahkiakum County, WA 90 km (56 mi) WSW earthquakes near Wahkiakum County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 1 km SE of Kapowsin, Washington
  2. 1.5 1 km WSW of Kapowsin, Washington
  3. 2.1 6 km SE of Mossyrock, Washington
  4. 1.8 2 km ESE of Kapowsin, Washington
  5. 1.6 10 km ENE of Ashford, Washington
  6. 1.6 1 km SW of Kapowsin, Washington
  7. 1.7 10 km E of Ashford, Washington
  8. 1.8 1 km WSW of Kapowsin, Washington
  9. 1.5 12 km NE of Ashford, Washington
  10. 2.0 17 km NNE of Ashford, Washington
  11. 1.5 6 km SW of Morton, Washington
  12. 2.5 14 km SSE of Ashford, Washington
  13. 1.6 8 km SSE of McKenna, Washington
  14. 1.6 19 km SSE of Mossyrock, Washington
  15. 1.6 18 km SSE of Mossyrock, 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.