QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M -0.1md

Earthquake near South Hill, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in South Hill in the 24 hours to 1:27 pm PST (21:27 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 -0.1 earthquake was recorded 38 km (23 mi) southeast of South Hill, WA, at 11:16 am PDT on 20 September 2026 (18:16 UTC), 13 km deep.

USGS: 16 km NNE of Ashford, Washington

87 km (54 mi) SSE of Seattle, WA · 50 km (31 mi) SSE of Auburn, WA

11:16 am PDT, Sep 20, 2026 · · 13 km deep · released about 0.023 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Pierce County 24 kmLewis County 49 kmKing County 67 kmThurston County 68 kmCowlitz County 96 kmSkamania County 96 kmKittitas County 99 kmKitsap County 99 kmYakima County 103 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
11:16 am PDT on 20 September 2026 ()
Where
38 km (23 mi) southeast of South Hill, WA · earthquakes near South Hill
Magnitude
M -0.1 (md)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Pierce County, 24 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 47 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. 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, Eatonville.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 0.023 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 0.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 660,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 470,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 42,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M -0.1 about 0.023 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 since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 46.8923, -121.9325. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Pierce County, WA 24 km (15 mi) NW earthquakes near Pierce County
Lewis County, WA 49 km (30 mi) SW earthquakes near Lewis County
King County, WA 67 km (42 mi) N earthquakes near King County
Thurston County, WA 68 km (42 mi) W earthquakes near Thurston County
Cowlitz County, WA 96 km (60 mi) SW earthquakes near Cowlitz County
Skamania County, WA 96 km (60 mi) S earthquakes near Skamania County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 0.3 15 km NNE of Ashford, Washington
  2. 1.6 8 km NE of Ashford, Washington
  3. 0.1 8 km NE of Ashford, Washington
  4. 0.7 17 km NNE of Ashford, Washington
  5. 1.6 12 km WSW of Alder, Washington
  6. 0.1 8 km NE of Ashford, Washington
  7. 0.4 16 km NE of Ashford, Washington
  8. 0.5 15 km SSE of Carbonado, Washington
  9. 0.2 16 km NNE of Ashford, Washington
  10. 1.1 12 km NE of Ashford, Washington
  11. 1.1 16 km NNE of Ashford, Washington
  12. 0.8 16 km NNE of Ashford, Washington
  13. 0.3 16 km NNE of Ashford, Washington
  14. 0.5 24 km ENE of Ashford, Washington
  15. 0.9 15 km NNE of Ashford, 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.