QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Issaquah, WA

Yes. A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) E of Issaquah, WA, at 8:04 am PST on 31 December 2016 (16:04 UTC), 20 km deep.

This was on 31 December 2016. The latest near Issaquah: M 2.5 on 26 June 2026.

USGS: 4 km E of Issaquah, Washington

30 km (18 mi) ESE of Seattle, WA · 8 km (5 mi) SE of Sammamish, WA

8:04 am PST, Dec 31, 2016 · · 20 km deep · released about 6.4 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Issaquah Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N King County 12 kmKitsap County 52 kmPierce County 56 kmSnohomish County 60 kmIsland County 87 kmMason County 92 kmThurston County 93 kmSkagit County 107 kmChelan County 108 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
8:04 am PST on 31 December 2016 ()
Where
4 km (3 mi) E of Issaquah, WA · earthquakes near Issaquah
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
King County, 12 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Seattle fault, 4 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 3570 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 Issaquah, 4 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: Klahanie, Fall City, Mirrormont, City of Sammamish, West Lake Sammamish, Ames Lake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.4 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. 6.7 1 km ENE of Dash Point, Washington · 40 km SW of this epicentre
  2. 5.4 8 km NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 26 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 9 km NE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 26 km NNE of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 3 km WSW of Des Moines, Washington · 34 km WSW 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 47.5358, -121.9758. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
King County, WA 12 km (7 mi) ESE earthquakes near King County
Kitsap County, WA 52 km (32 mi) WNW earthquakes near Kitsap County
Pierce County, WA 56 km (34 mi) SSW earthquakes near Pierce County
Snohomish County, WA 60 km (37 mi) NNE earthquakes near Snohomish County
Island County, WA 87 km (54 mi) NW earthquakes near Island County
Mason County, WA 92 km (57 mi) WSW earthquakes near Mason 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. 2.1 5 km ESE of Indianola, Washington
  2. 1.9 1 km WNW of Bonney Lake, Washington
  3. 1.5 3 km N of Union Hill-Novelty Hill, Washington
  4. 1.7 4 km ENE of May Creek, Washington
  5. 1.5 1 km N of White Center, Washington
  6. 2.0 0 km WNW of Bonney Lake, Washington
  7. 1.6 5 km NNE of Dash Point, Washington
  8. 1.7 3 km NE of Tanner, Washington
  9. 1.8 2 km WSW of Shoreline, Washington
  10. 2.4 5 km NNE of North Bend, Washington
  11. 1.5 1 km N of Carnation, Washington
  12. 1.6 3 km WNW of Vashon, Washington
  13. 1.6 0 km SSW of Beaux Arts Village, Washington
  14. 1.8 4 km WSW of Inglewood-Finn Hill, Washington
  15. 1.6 8 km ESE of Enumclaw, 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.