QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Lake Marcel-Stillwater, WA

Yes. A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, WA, at 12:39 pm PST on 26 December 2016 (20:39 UTC), 7.6 km deep.

This was on 26 December 2016. The latest near Lake Marcel-Stillwater: M 2.5 on 26 June 2026.

USGS: 9 km NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington

40 km (25 mi) ENE of Seattle, WA · 22 km (13 mi) ENE of Redmond, WA

12:39 pm PST, Dec 26, 2016 · · 7.6 km deep · released about 7.6 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N King County 31 kmSnohomish County 32 kmKitsap County 61 kmIsland County 74 kmSkagit County 80 kmPierce County 83 kmChelan County 93 kmMason County 109 kmKittitas County 115 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
12:39 pm PST on 26 December 2016 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, WA · earthquakes near Lake Marcel-Stillwater
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
7.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
King County, 31 km S
Nearest mapped fault
Cherry Creek fault, 3 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 3577 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Lake Marcel-Stillwater, 10 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: Duvall, Sultan, Woods Creek, Monroe, Carnation, Monroe North.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.6 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 2,000,000× 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 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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 · 2 km SW of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 9 km NE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 4 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 4 km ENE of Machias, Washington · 27 km NNW 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 47.7722, -121.8637. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
King County, WA 31 km (20 mi) S earthquakes near King County
Snohomish County, WA 32 km (20 mi) NNE earthquakes near Snohomish County
Kitsap County, WA 61 km (38 mi) WSW earthquakes near Kitsap County
Island County, WA 74 km (46 mi) NW earthquakes near Island County
Skagit County, WA 80 km (50 mi) N earthquakes near Skagit County
Pierce County, WA 83 km (52 mi) SSW earthquakes near Pierce 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. 1.7 3 km NE of Tanner, Washington
  2. 1.8 3 km E of Granite Falls, Washington
  3. 1.8 2 km WSW of Shoreline, Washington
  4. 2.4 5 km NNE of North Bend, Washington
  5. 1.5 1 km N of Carnation, Washington
  6. 2.2 10 km E of Verlot, Washington
  7. 1.8 3 km E of Granite Falls, Washington
  8. 1.6 0 km SSW of Beaux Arts Village, Washington
  9. 2.2 11 km E of Verlot, Washington
  10. 1.8 4 km WSW of Inglewood-Finn Hill, Washington
  11. 2.5 3 km ESE of Wilderness Rim, Washington
  12. 1.5 2 km ENE of Union Hill-Novelty Hill, Washington
  13. 1.6 1 km NE of Yarrow Point, Washington
  14. 1.7 3 km E of Granite Falls, Washington
  15. 2.0 3 km E of Granite Falls, 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.