QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Everett, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Everett in the 24 hours to 6:48 pm PST (02:48 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 75 km (47 mi) SSW, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Everett

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 23 km (14 mi) east of Everett, WA, at 5:32 am PDT on 30 August 2016 (12:32 UTC), 17 km deep.

USGS: 2 km ESE of Lake Roesiger, Washington

52 km (33 mi) NE of Seattle, WA · 22 km (14 mi) E of Everett, WA

5:32 am PDT, Aug 30, 2016 · · 17 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Snohomish County 13 kmKing County 54 kmSkagit County 58 kmIsland County 61 kmKitsap County 68 kmChelan County 96 kmWhatcom County 96 kmPierce County 105 kmSan Juan County 107 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
5:32 am PDT on 30 August 2016 ()
Where
23 km (14 mi) east of Everett, WA · earthquakes near Everett
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
17 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Snohomish County, 13 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
Southern Whidbey Island fault, 17 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 597 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 Everett, 23 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: Three Lakes, Woods Creek, Machias, Monroe North, Granite Falls, Lochsloy.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 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 1,400,000× 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 89× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.4 8 km NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 24 km S of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 9 km NE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 26 km S of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 4 km ENE of Machias, Washington · 8 km WNW 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 47.9767, -121.8922. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Snohomish County, WA 13 km (8 mi) NE earthquakes near Snohomish County
King County, WA 54 km (34 mi) S earthquakes near King County
Skagit County, WA 58 km (36 mi) N earthquakes near Skagit County
Island County, WA 61 km (38 mi) WNW earthquakes near Island County
Kitsap County, WA 68 km (42 mi) WSW earthquakes near Kitsap County
Chelan County, WA 96 km (59 mi) E earthquakes near Chelan 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. 2.0 3 km E of Granite Falls, Washington
  2. 2.6 6 km WSW of Skykomish, Washington
  3. 1.6 2 km SE of Maltby, Washington
  4. 2.0 0 km NNE of Clearview, Washington
  5. 1.6 7 km W of Lake Cavanaugh, Washington
  6. 1.9 4 km W of Arlington, Washington
  7. 2.3 3 km ENE of May Creek, Washington
  8. 2.4 2 km NE of Monroe North, Washington
  9. 1.6 3 km SW of Shoreline, Washington
  10. 1.5 5 km WSW of Woodway, Washington
  11. 1.6 Washington
  12. 2.1 2 km NE of Roosevelt, Washington
  13. 1.6 5 km WSW of Clinton, Washington
  14. 1.8 4 km WSW of Lake Cavanaugh, Washington
  15. 2.9 4 km W of Darrington, 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.