QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Indianola, WA

Yes. A magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 2 km (2 mi) ENE of Indianola, WA, at 1:46 am PDT on 15 October 2016 (08:46 UTC), 25 km deep.

This was on 15 October 2016. The latest near Indianola: M 2.6 on 25 January 2026.

USGS: 2 km ENE of Indianola, Washington

18 km (11 mi) NW of Seattle, WA · 11 km (7 mi) W of Shoreline, WA

1:46 am PDT, Oct 15, 2016 · · 25 km deep · released about 9.3 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kitsap County 17 kmIsland County 47 kmKing County 57 kmSnohomish County 64 kmMason County 68 kmJefferson County 77 kmPierce County 82 kmThurston County 94 kmSan Juan County 95 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
1:46 am PDT on 15 October 2016 ()
Where
2 km (2 mi) ENE of Indianola, WA · earthquakes near Indianola
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
25 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kitsap County, 17 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
Southern Whidbey Island fault, 7 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 3649 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 Indianola, 2 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: Kingston, Suquamish, Woodway, Edmonds, Esperance, Shoreline.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 9.3 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 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 100× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 9.3 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 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 1 km ENE of Dash Point, Washington · 48 km S of this epicentre
  2. 6.1 Puget Sound region, Washington · 44 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.4 8 km NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 46 km E of this epicentre
  4. 5.3 Eastern Olympic Peninsula, Washington · 38 km W of this epicentre
  5. 5.2 9 km NE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 50 km E 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 47.7537, -122.4942. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kitsap County, WA 17 km (11 mi) SW earthquakes near Kitsap County
Island County, WA 47 km (29 mi) NNW earthquakes near Island County
King County, WA 57 km (36 mi) ESE earthquakes near King County
Snohomish County, WA 64 km (40 mi) ENE earthquakes near Snohomish County
Mason County, WA 68 km (42 mi) SW earthquakes near Mason County
Jefferson County, WA 77 km (48 mi) W earthquakes near Jefferson County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 3 km SW of Bainbridge Island, Washington
  2. 1.5 0 km SW of Bainbridge Island, Washington
  3. 3.4 6 km SE of Freeland, Washington
  4. 2.6 2 km ENE of Enetai, Washington
  5. 2.1 1 km NE of Enetai, Washington
  6. 1.5 2 km ENE of Enetai, Washington
  7. 3.5 1 km ENE of Enetai, Washington
  8. 1.5 2 km NE of Enetai, Washington
  9. 1.6 3 km ENE of Enetai, Washington
  10. 1.9 2 km ENE of Enetai, Washington
  11. 2.2 0 km S of Enetai, Washington
  12. 1.6 2 km ENE of Enetai, Washington
  13. 3.4 1 km ESE of Enetai, Washington
  14. 1.9 1 km N of Parkwood, Washington
  15. 1.7 2 km ENE 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.