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
- 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
- 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:
- 5.4 8 km NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 2 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.2 9 km NE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 4 km SE of this epicentre
- 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
| Place | Distance | Direction 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.
- 1.7 3 km NE of Tanner, Washington
- 1.8 3 km E of Granite Falls, Washington
- 1.8 2 km WSW of Shoreline, Washington
- 2.4 5 km NNE of North Bend, Washington
- 1.5 1 km N of Carnation, Washington
- 2.2 10 km E of Verlot, Washington
- 1.8 3 km E of Granite Falls, Washington
- 1.6 0 km SSW of Beaux Arts Village, Washington
- 2.2 11 km E of Verlot, Washington
- 1.8 4 km WSW of Inglewood-Finn Hill, Washington
- 2.5 3 km ESE of Wilderness Rim, Washington
- 1.5 2 km ENE of Union Hill-Novelty Hill, Washington
- 1.6 1 km NE of Yarrow Point, Washington
- 1.7 3 km E of Granite Falls, Washington
- 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.