QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Chico, WA

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Chico in the last 24 hours. M 1.9, 8 km (5 mi) WSW of Chico, at 11:46 am PST on 13 November 2026 (19:46 UTC); the estimated shaking in Chico was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Chico

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) west-southwest of Chico, WA, at 3:48 pm PDT on 2 August 2017 (22:48 UTC), 25 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 3 km WSW of Chico, Washington

30 km (19 mi) W of Seattle, WA

3:48 pm PDT, Aug 2, 2017 · · 25 km deep · released about 49 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kitsap County 9 kmMason County 42 kmJefferson County 63 kmIsland County 63 kmKing County 70 kmThurston County 73 kmPierce County 75 kmSnohomish County 90 kmGrays Harbor County 97 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
3:48 pm PDT on 2 August 2017 ()
Where
4 km (2 mi) west-southwest of Chico, WA · earthquakes near Chico
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
25 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Kitsap County, 9 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
Seattle fault, under 1 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 3387 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 Chico, 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: Erlands Point-Kitsap Lake, Rocky Point, Silverdale, Tracyton, Seabeck, Navy Yard City.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 49 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 310,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 220,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 19× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 49 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 840 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.8 The 2001 Nisqually, Washington Earthquake · 50 km S of this epicentre
  2. 6.7 1 km ENE of Dash Point, Washington · 39 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 Puget Sound region, Washington · 21 km S of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 Puget Sound area, Washington · 37 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 Eastern Olympic Peninsula, Washington · 30 km NW 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 47.5942, -122.7495. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kitsap County, WA 9 km (6 mi) NE earthquakes near Kitsap County
Mason County, WA 42 km (26 mi) SW earthquakes near Mason County
Jefferson County, WA 63 km (39 mi) WNW earthquakes near Jefferson County
Island County, WA 63 km (39 mi) N earthquakes near Island County
King County, WA 70 km (43 mi) E earthquakes near King County
Thurston County, WA 73 km (46 mi) S earthquakes near Thurston County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 2 km N of Seattle, Washington
  2. 1.5 7 km ENE of Allyn, Washington
  3. 1.6 1 km W of Enetai, Washington
  4. 1.7 6 km W of Burley, Washington
  5. 2.7 4 km WSW of Mercer Island, Washington
  6. 2.3 6 km W of Burley, Washington
  7. 1.8 1 km SSW of Esperance, Washington
  8. 1.9 5 km S of Port Ludlow, Washington
  9. 1.7 2 km N of Mercer Island, Washington
  10. 2.5 0 km S of Esperance, Washington
  11. 1.9 7 km SSW of Clinton, Washington
  12. 1.5 4 km SSE of Vashon, Washington
  13. 1.7 3 km SSW of Erlands Point-Kitsap Lake, Washington
  14. 1.6 2 km WNW of Navy Yard City, Washington
  15. 1.6 2 km WNW of Navy Yard City, 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.