QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near Bothell East, WA

Yes. A magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) ESE of Bothell East, WA, at 8:34 am PDT on 13 September 2016 (15:34 UTC), 24 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

This was on 13 September 2016. The latest near Bothell East: M 3.0 on 24 February 2026.

USGS: 2 km ESE of Bothell East, Washington

25 km (16 mi) NE of Seattle, WA · 5 km (3 mi) NE of Bothell, WA

8:34 am PDT, Sep 13, 2016 · · 24 km deep · released about 30 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Bothell East Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Snohomish County 40 kmKitsap County 41 kmKing County 42 kmIsland County 55 kmSkagit County 81 kmPierce County 83 kmMason County 92 kmJefferson County 103 kmSan Juan 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
8:34 am PDT on 13 September 2016 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) ESE of Bothell East, WA · earthquakes near Bothell East
Magnitude
M 2.0 (ml)
Depth
24 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity I
Nearest
Snohomish County, 40 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
Southern Whidbey Island fault, under 1 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 Bothell East, 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: North Creek, Maltby, Clearview, Mill Creek East, Woodinville, Bothell.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 30 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 350,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 32× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 30 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. 5.4 8 km NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 21 km ESE of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 9 km NE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 25 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 4 km ENE of Machias, Washington · 25 km NNE of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 3 km WSW of Des Moines, Washington · 49 km SSW 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 47.8015, -122.1510. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Snohomish County, WA 40 km (25 mi) NE earthquakes near Snohomish County
Kitsap County, WA 41 km (26 mi) WSW earthquakes near Kitsap County
King County, WA 42 km (26 mi) SE earthquakes near King County
Island County, WA 55 km (34 mi) NW earthquakes near Island County
Skagit County, WA 81 km (50 mi) NNE earthquakes near Skagit County
Pierce County, WA 83 km (52 mi) S earthquakes near Pierce County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 1 km S of Enetai, Washington
  2. 1.9 1 km SSW of Enetai, Washington
  3. 1.9 1 km SE of Enetai, Washington
  4. 2.0 1 km ESE of Enetai, Washington
  5. 1.6 2 km E of Enetai, Washington
  6. 2.3 2 km ESE of Enetai, Washington
  7. 1.6 1 km ESE of Enetai, Washington
  8. 1.5 1 km SE of Enetai, Washington
  9. 1.5 1 km E of Enetai, Washington
  10. 1.5 2 km E of Enetai, Washington
  11. 2.0 0 km SE of Enetai, Washington
  12. 1.5 0 km E of Enetai, Washington
  13. 3.3 1 km S of Enetai, Washington
  14. 2.0 6 km SSE of Port Ludlow, Washington
  15. 1.8 3 km NNE of Klahanie, 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.