QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Carnation, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Carnation in the 24 hours to 5:36 am PST (13:36 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 67 km (41 mi) WSW, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Carnation

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded in Carnation, WA, at 12:19 pm PDT on 25 October 2017 (19:19 UTC), 19 km deep.

USGS: 1 km N of Carnation, Washington

12 km (7 mi) NE of Sammamish, WA · 33 km (20 mi) E of Seattle, WA

12:19 pm PDT, Oct 25, 2017 · · 19 km deep · released about 5.7 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N King County 20 kmSnohomish County 45 kmKitsap County 55 kmPierce County 70 kmIsland County 79 kmSkagit County 93 kmChelan County 100 kmMason County 100 kmThurston County 106 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
12:19 pm PDT on 25 October 2017 ()
Where
in Carnation, WA · earthquakes near Carnation
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
19 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
King County, 20 km SSE
Nearest mapped fault
Southern Whidbey Island fault, 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 3306 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: Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Ames Lake, Union Hill-Novelty Hill, Fall City, Duvall, City of Sammamish.

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. 5.4 8 km NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 12 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 9 km NE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 12 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 4 km ENE of Machias, Washington · 38 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 3 km WSW of Des Moines, Washington · 45 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 47.6593, -121.9168. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
King County, WA 20 km (12 mi) SSE earthquakes near King County
Snohomish County, WA 45 km (28 mi) NNE earthquakes near Snohomish County
Kitsap County, WA 55 km (34 mi) W earthquakes near Kitsap County
Pierce County, WA 70 km (43 mi) SSW earthquakes near Pierce County
Island County, WA 79 km (49 mi) NW earthquakes near Island County
Skagit County, WA 93 km (58 mi) N earthquakes near Skagit County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 2 km ENE of Granite Falls, Washington
  2. 1.6 11 km S of Wilderness Rim, Washington
  3. 1.6 9 km NE of Duvall, Washington
  4. 2.0 2 km NE of Granite Falls, Washington
  5. 2.4 5 km SSE of May Creek, Washington
  6. 2.5 0 km ESE of Riverton, Washington
  7. 2.0 3 km E of Granite Falls, Washington
  8. 2.6 6 km SSW of Lake Morton-Berrydale, Washington
  9. 2.1 5 km SE of Lea Hill, Washington
  10. 1.7 6 km ENE of Hobart, Washington
  11. 1.8 3 km ENE of Granite Falls, Washington
  12. 1.8 8 km NE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington
  13. 1.8 3 km ENE of Granite Falls, Washington
  14. 2.7 1 km NNW of Mountlake Terrace, Washington
  15. 1.8 10 km NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, 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.