QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Shelton, WA

Yes. A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) WNW of Shelton, WA, at 2:15 pm PDT on 13 March 2017 (21:15 UTC), 39 km deep.

This was on 13 March 2017. The latest near Shelton: M 4.2 on 29 September 2026.

USGS: 5 km WNW of Shelton, Washington

76 km (47 mi) SW of Seattle, WA · 30 km (18 mi) NW of Olympia, WA

2:15 pm PDT, Mar 13, 2017 · · 39 km deep · released about 9 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Shelton Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mason County 14 kmThurston County 41 kmGrays Harbor County 51 kmKitsap County 61 kmJefferson County 70 kmPierce County 80 kmPacific County 88 kmLewis County 94 kmKing County 105 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
2:15 pm PDT on 13 March 2017 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) WNW of Shelton, WA · earthquakes near Shelton
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
39 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mason County, 14 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Olympia structure, 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 3500 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 Shelton, 6 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: McCleary, Olympia.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 9 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 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 9 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.1 on 2017-02-23 — about 4,600 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.8 The 2001 Nisqually, Washington Earthquake · 35 km ESE of this epicentre
  2. 6.7 4 km WNW of Roy, Washington · 50 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 Puget Sound region, Washington · 37 km ENE of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 Puget Sound area, Washington · 22 km ENE of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 8 km N of Satsop, Washington · 28 km SW 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 47.2263, -123.1740. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mason County, WA 14 km (9 mi) N earthquakes near Mason County
Thurston County, WA 41 km (26 mi) SE earthquakes near Thurston County
Grays Harbor County, WA 51 km (32 mi) WSW earthquakes near Grays Harbor County
Kitsap County, WA 61 km (38 mi) NE earthquakes near Kitsap County
Jefferson County, WA 70 km (43 mi) NNW earthquakes near Jefferson County
Pierce County, WA 80 km (49 mi) ESE earthquakes near Pierce County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 7 km WSW of Grapeview, Washington
  2. 1.5 3 km SSW of Gorst, Washington
  3. 1.7 20 km W of Brinnon, Washington
  4. 1.5 10 km ENE of McCleary, Washington
  5. 2.1 19 km ENE of Amanda Park, Washington
  6. 1.7 4 km N of Chehalis Village, Washington
  7. 1.9 1 km WNW of DuPont, Washington
  8. 2.8 8 km SW of Skokomish, Washington
  9. 1.7 8 km NNW of Olympia, Washington
  10. 1.7 3 km E of Home, Washington
  11. 2.1 4 km WSW of Seabeck, Washington
  12. 1.6 8 km S of Seabeck, Washington
  13. 1.8 1 km WSW of Belfair, Washington
  14. 1.5 12 km ENE of Aberdeen Gardens, Washington
  15. 1.5 8 km SW of Grapeview, 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.