QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Shoreline, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Shoreline in the 24 hours to 7:49 am PST (15:49 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 49 km (30 mi) SW, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Shoreline

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) southwest of Shoreline, WA, at 3:29 pm PDT on 17 July 2017 (22:29 UTC), 20 km deep.

USGS: 3 km SW of Shoreline, Washington

13 km (8 mi) N of Seattle, WA · in Shoreline, WA

3:29 pm PDT, Jul 17, 2017 · · 20 km deep · released about 6.8 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Shoreline Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kitsap County 24 kmKing County 48 kmIsland County 52 kmSnohomish County 57 kmMason County 74 kmPierce County 78 kmJefferson County 87 kmSkagit County 94 kmThurston County 95 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
3:29 pm PDT on 17 July 2017 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) southwest of Shoreline, WA · earthquakes near Shoreline
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kitsap County, 24 km WSW
Nearest mapped fault
Southern Whidbey Island 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 3406 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 Shoreline, 3 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: Esperance, Lake Forest Park, Woodway, Mountlake Terrace, Edmonds, Brier.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.8 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 2,200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.8 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 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 1 km ENE of Dash Point, Washington · 46 km S of this epicentre
  2. 6.1 Puget Sound region, Washington · 47 km SW of this epicentre
  3. 5.4 8 km NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 37 km E of this epicentre
  4. 5.3 Eastern Olympic Peninsula, Washington · 48 km W of this epicentre
  5. 5.2 9 km NE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 40 km E 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 47.7343, -122.3665. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kitsap County, WA 24 km (15 mi) WSW earthquakes near Kitsap County
King County, WA 48 km (30 mi) SE earthquakes near King County
Island County, WA 52 km (33 mi) NNW earthquakes near Island County
Snohomish County, WA 57 km (36 mi) NE earthquakes near Snohomish County
Mason County, WA 74 km (46 mi) SW earthquakes near Mason County
Pierce County, WA 78 km (48 mi) SSE earthquakes near Pierce County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.7 5 km W of Gorst, Washington
  2. 1.5 3 km ENE of Enetai, Washington
  3. 2.1 1 km NNW of Maple Valley, Washington
  4. 1.7 1 km NW of Maple Valley, Washington
  5. 1.7 1 km N of Lake Roesiger, Washington
  6. 1.6 3 km WSW of West Lake Stevens, Washington
  7. 1.8 4 km SE of Ames Lake, Washington
  8. 1.9 0 km SSE of Enetai, Washington
  9. 1.6 3 km NW of Burley, Washington
  10. 1.8 3 km NW of Cottage Lake, Washington
  11. 1.7 2 km WNW of Federal Way, Washington
  12. 1.5 3 km SSE of Quilcene, Washington
  13. 1.7 1 km NNE of Lynnwood, Washington
  14. 1.7 5 km ESE of Camano, Washington
  15. 2.1 5 km ESE of Indianola, 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.