QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Olympia, WA

USGS: 13 km E of Porter, Washington

94 km (59 mi) SW of Seattle, WA · 20 km (13 mi) WSW of Olympia, WA

3:37 pm PDT, May 24, 2016 · · -0.2 km deep · released about 10 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Olympia Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Thurston County 23 kmMason County 44 kmGrays Harbor County 56 kmPacific County 66 kmLewis County 71 kmPierce County 75 kmWahkiakum County 77 kmKitsap County 84 kmCowlitz County 91 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
3:37 pm PDT on 24 May 2016 ()
Where
20 km (12 mi) WSW of Olympia, WA · earthquakes near Olympia
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
-0.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Thurston County, 23 km E
Nearest mapped fault
Olympia structure, 20 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 558 days ago

A magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 20 km (12 mi) WSW of Olympia, WA, at 3:37 pm PDT on 24 May 2016 (22:37 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Rochester, McCleary, Tumwater, Grand Mound, Elma, Tenino.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 10 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 92× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 10 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 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.8 The 2001 Nisqually, Washington Earthquake · 37 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 6.7 4 km WNW of Roy, Washington · 41 km E of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 Puget Sound area, Washington · 40 km NNE of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 8 km N of Satsop, Washington · 29 km WNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 Olympic Peninsula, Washington · 34 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 46.9537, -123.1302. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Thurston County, WA 23 km (14 mi) E earthquakes near Thurston County
Mason County, WA 44 km (28 mi) N earthquakes near Mason County
Grays Harbor County, WA 56 km (35 mi) WNW earthquakes near Grays Harbor County
Pacific County, WA 66 km (41 mi) SW earthquakes near Pacific County
Lewis County, WA 71 km (44 mi) SE earthquakes near Lewis County
Pierce County, WA 75 km (47 mi) E earthquakes near Pierce County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 10 km WSW of Chehalis, Washington
  2. 2.1 1 km SW of Home, Washington
  3. 2.4 1 km SSW of Home, Washington
  4. 1.6 2 km WSW of Home, Washington
  5. 2.7 3 km S of Home, Washington
  6. 2.2 5 km SE of Shelton, Washington
  7. 1.6 Puget Sound region, Washington
  8. 1.8 11 km S of Shelton, Washington
  9. 2.0 11 km SSW of Shelton, Washington
  10. 1.7 4 km S of Skokomish, Washington
  11. 2.1 2 km S of Grapeview, Washington
  12. 1.7 18 km N of Satsop, Washington
  13. 1.8 3 km E of Home, Washington
  14. 1.6 6 km WNW of DuPont, Washington
  15. 2.1 6 km NNE of Olympia, 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.