QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Maple Valley, WA

Yes. A magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded in Maple Valley, WA, at 2:41 pm PST on 16 December 2016 (22:41 UTC), 14 km deep.

This was on 16 December 2016. The latest near Maple Valley: M 2.5 on 26 June 2026.

USGS: 1 km NE of Maple Valley, Washington

14 km (9 mi) E of Kent, WA · 34 km (21 mi) SE of Seattle, WA

2:41 pm PST, Dec 16, 2016 · · 14 km deep · released about 5.7 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Maple Valley Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N King County 18 kmPierce County 40 kmKitsap County 53 kmSnohomish County 75 kmThurston County 79 kmMason County 86 kmLewis County 95 kmIsland County 97 kmKittitas County 107 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
2:41 pm PST on 16 December 2016 ()
Where
in Maple Valley, WA · earthquakes near Maple Valley
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
King County, 18 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
Seattle fault, 8 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 3587 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. 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: Hobart, Ravensdale, Maple Heights-Lake Desire, Mirrormont, Covington, Lake Morton-Berrydale.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.7 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 2,600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.7 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 · 30 km WSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.4 8 km NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 42 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 9 km NE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 42 km NNE of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 3 km WSW of Des Moines, Washington · 25 km W 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 47.4012, -122.0318. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
King County, WA 18 km (11 mi) NE earthquakes near King County
Pierce County, WA 40 km (25 mi) SSW earthquakes near Pierce County
Kitsap County, WA 53 km (33 mi) WNW earthquakes near Kitsap County
Snohomish County, WA 75 km (47 mi) NNE earthquakes near Snohomish County
Thurston County, WA 79 km (49 mi) SW earthquakes near Thurston County
Mason County, WA 86 km (54 mi) W earthquakes near Mason 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. 1.9 2 km NE of Tanner, Washington
  2. 2.5 2 km ESE of Enetai, Washington
  3. 2.0 1 km NNW of Maple Valley, Washington
  4. 1.6 1 km WNW of Maple Valley, Washington
  5. 2.0 1 km NE of Enetai, Washington
  6. 1.9 2 km ENE of Enetai, Washington
  7. 2.0 0 km NNE of Clearview, Washington
  8. 2.7 1 km E of Enetai, Washington
  9. 1.6 3 km SW of Shoreline, Washington
  10. 1.5 3 km ENE of Enetai, Washington
  11. 2.2 1 km W of Bonney Lake, Washington
  12. 1.6 0 km NNE of Mercer Island, Washington
  13. 1.8 1 km SSE of Mercer Island, Washington
  14. 1.9 1 km NE of Alderton, Washington
  15. 1.6 5 km N of Seattle, 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.