QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

Earthquake near Burley, WA

Yes. A magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded in Burley, WA, at 9:42 am PDT on 25 May 2016 (16:42 UTC), 12 km deep.

This was on 25 May 2016. The latest near Burley: M 4.2 on 29 September 2026.

USGS: 0 km SE of Burley, Washington

31 km (19 mi) SW of Seattle, WA · 22 km (13 mi) NW of Tacoma, WA

9:42 am PDT, May 25, 2016 · · 12 km deep · released about 23 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Burley Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kitsap County 26 kmMason County 42 kmPierce County 53 kmThurston County 55 kmKing County 60 kmJefferson County 81 kmIsland County 83 kmLewis County 94 kmSnohomish County 96 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
9:42 am PDT on 25 May 2016 ()
Where
in Burley, WA · earthquakes near Burley
Magnitude
M 1.9 (ml)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kitsap County, 26 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Tacoma fault, 4 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 569 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Purdy, Wauna, Canterwood, Maplewood, Rosedale, Bethel.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 23 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 660,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 470,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 42× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 23 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 · 30 km SSW of this epicentre
  2. 6.7 4 km WNW of Roy, Washington · 44 km S of this epicentre
  3. 6.7 1 km ENE of Dash Point, Washington · 19 km ESE of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 Puget Sound region, Washington · 10 km W of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 Puget Sound area, Washington · 25 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 47.4110, -122.6240. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kitsap County, WA 26 km (16 mi) N earthquakes near Kitsap County
Mason County, WA 42 km (26 mi) W earthquakes near Mason County
Pierce County, WA 53 km (33 mi) SE earthquakes near Pierce County
Thurston County, WA 55 km (34 mi) SSW earthquakes near Thurston County
King County, WA 60 km (37 mi) E earthquakes near King County
Jefferson County, WA 81 km (50 mi) WNW earthquakes near Jefferson County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 1 km SSW of Enetai, Washington
  2. 1.9 1 km SE of Enetai, Washington
  3. 2.0 1 km ESE of Enetai, Washington
  4. 1.6 2 km E of Enetai, Washington
  5. 2.3 2 km ESE of Enetai, Washington
  6. 1.6 1 km ESE of Enetai, Washington
  7. 1.5 1 km SE of Enetai, Washington
  8. 1.5 1 km E of Enetai, Washington
  9. 1.5 2 km E of Enetai, Washington
  10. 2.0 0 km SE of Enetai, Washington
  11. 1.5 0 km E of Enetai, Washington
  12. 3.3 1 km S of Enetai, Washington
  13. 1.8 3 km NNE of East Renton Highlands, Washington
  14. 1.6 3 km SW of Seattle, Washington
  15. 1.5 6 km SW of Des Moines, 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.