QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Carnation, WA

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Carnation in the last 24 hours. M 2.0, 3 km (2 mi) NE of Carnation, at 8:48 am PST on 11 November 2026 (16:48 UTC); the estimated shaking in Carnation was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Carnation

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) east of Carnation, WA, at 9:33 am PST on 28 December 2024 (17:33 UTC), 19 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 5 km E of Carnation, Washington

39 km (24 mi) E of Seattle, WA · 16 km (10 mi) ENE of Sammamish, WA

9:33 am PST, Dec 28, 2024 · · 19 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N King County 17 kmSnohomish County 46 kmKitsap County 61 kmPierce County 70 kmIsland County 84 kmSkagit County 94 kmChelan County 94 kmKittitas County 105 kmMason 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
9:33 am PST on 28 December 2024 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) east of Carnation, WA · earthquakes near Carnation
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
19 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
King County, 17 km S
Nearest mapped fault
Southern Whidbey Island fault, 5 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 554 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 Carnation, 6 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: Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Fall City, Ames Lake, Snoqualmie, Union Hill-Novelty Hill, Duvall.

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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.6 on 2019-07-12 — about 42,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.4 8 km NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 13 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 9 km NE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 11 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 4 km ENE of Machias, Washington · 41 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 3 km WSW of Des Moines, Washington · 49 km SW 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 47.6470, -121.8383. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
King County, WA 17 km (11 mi) S earthquakes near King County
Snohomish County, WA 46 km (28 mi) N earthquakes near Snohomish County
Kitsap County, WA 61 km (38 mi) W earthquakes near Kitsap County
Pierce County, WA 70 km (44 mi) SSW earthquakes near Pierce County
Island County, WA 84 km (52 mi) NW earthquakes near Island County
Skagit County, WA 94 km (58 mi) N earthquakes near Skagit County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 4 km WSW of Skykomish, Washington
  2. 1.5 1 km NE of Wilburton, Washington
  3. 1.7 0 km W of Beaux Arts Village, Washington
  4. 1.7 2 km ENE of Granite Falls, Washington
  5. 1.7 1 km E of Granite Falls, Washington
  6. 1.6 10 km ENE of Snoqualmie, Washington
  7. 1.7 4 km S of Monroe, Washington
  8. 1.6 9 km ENE of Snoqualmie, Washington
  9. 2.1 10 km NNE of Snoqualmie, Washington
  10. 1.9 1 km NNW of Maple Valley, Washington
  11. 1.7 3 km E of Granite Falls, Washington
  12. 2.8 3 km NE of Fall City, Washington
  13. 1.6 3 km WSW of Sammamish, Washington
  14. 1.9 1 km SSE of Echo Lake, Washington
  15. 2.3 7 km NE of Snoqualmie, 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.