QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Maple Valley, WA

Yes. A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) SSE of Maple Valley, WA, at 3:38 pm PDT on 5 August 2016 (22:38 UTC), 14 km deep.

This was on 5 August 2016. The latest near Maple Valley: M 2.5 on 26 June 2026.

USGS: 2 km SSE of Maple Valley, Washington

14 km (8 mi) E of Kent, WA · 37 km (23 mi) SE of Seattle, WA

3:38 pm PDT, Aug 5, 2016 · · 14 km deep · released about 7.8 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Maple Valley Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N King County 20 kmPierce County 37 kmKitsap County 55 kmThurston County 77 kmSnohomish County 79 kmMason County 86 kmLewis County 92 kmIsland County 100 kmKittitas 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
3:38 pm PDT on 5 August 2016 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) SSE of Maple Valley, WA · earthquakes near Maple Valley
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
King County, 20 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
Seattle fault, 11 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 568 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 Maple Valley, 3 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: Ravensdale, Lake Morton-Berrydale, Covington, Black Diamond, Hobart, Maple Heights-Lake Desire.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.8 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.8 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 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.7 1 km ENE of Dash Point, Washington · 29 km W of this epicentre
  2. 5.4 8 km NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 45 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 9 km NE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 45 km NNE of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 3 km WSW of Des Moines, Washington · 25 km W 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 47.3700, -122.0333. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
King County, WA 20 km (12 mi) NE earthquakes near King County
Pierce County, WA 37 km (23 mi) SSW earthquakes near Pierce County
Kitsap County, WA 55 km (34 mi) WNW earthquakes near Kitsap County
Thurston County, WA 77 km (48 mi) SW earthquakes near Thurston County
Snohomish County, WA 79 km (49 mi) NNE earthquakes near Snohomish County
Mason County, WA 86 km (53 mi) W earthquakes near Mason County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 1 km SSE of North Bend, Washington
  2. 1.9 10 km NE of Snoqualmie, Washington
  3. 1.8 Washington
  4. 1.5 11 km W of Greenwater, Washington
  5. 2.8 1 km ESE of Enetai, Washington
  6. 1.5 1 km W of Seattle, Washington
  7. 1.7 2 km ESE of Enetai, Washington
  8. 1.6 3 km SSW of Kapowsin, Washington
  9. 2.1 0 km NNW of Des Moines, Washington
  10. 1.6 3 km SW of Bainbridge Island, Washington
  11. 1.5 0 km SW of Bainbridge Island, Washington
  12. 2.6 2 km ENE of Enetai, Washington
  13. 2.1 1 km NE of Enetai, Washington
  14. 1.5 2 km ENE of Enetai, Washington
  15. 1.5 2 km NE of Enetai, 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.