QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Esperance, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Esperance in the 24 hours to 2:30 am PST (10:30 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 51 km (32 mi) SSW, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Esperance

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded in Esperance, WA, at 7:34 am PDT on 14 March 2018 (14:34 UTC), 21 km deep.

USGS: 1 km SSW of Esperance, Washington

18 km (11 mi) N of Seattle, WA · in Shoreline, WA

7:34 am PDT, Mar 14, 2018 · · 21 km deep · released about 14 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kitsap County 26 kmIsland County 48 kmKing County 51 kmSnohomish County 54 kmMason County 77 kmPierce County 82 kmJefferson County 87 kmSkagit County 89 kmSan Juan County 98 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
7:34 am PDT on 14 March 2018 ()
Where
in Esperance, WA · earthquakes near Esperance
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
21 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kitsap County, 26 km SW
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 3166 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: Woodway, Shoreline, Edmonds, Mountlake Terrace, Lynnwood, Lake Forest Park.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 14 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 760,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 68× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 14 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 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.4 8 km NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 37 km E of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 Eastern Olympic Peninsula, Washington · 48 km W of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 9 km NE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 40 km E of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 4 km ENE of Machias, Washington · 37 km NE of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 3 km WSW of Des Moines, Washington · 44 km S 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 47.7788, -122.3638. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kitsap County, WA 26 km (16 mi) SW earthquakes near Kitsap County
Island County, WA 48 km (30 mi) NNW earthquakes near Island County
King County, WA 51 km (32 mi) SE earthquakes near King County
Snohomish County, WA 54 km (34 mi) NE earthquakes near Snohomish County
Mason County, WA 77 km (48 mi) SW earthquakes near Mason County
Pierce County, WA 82 km (51 mi) S earthquakes near Pierce County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 5 km ENE of Port Townsend, Washington
  2. 1.5 2 km ESE of Manchester, Washington
  3. 1.9 3 km E of Indianola, Washington
  4. 1.5 7 km ESE of Carnation, Washington
  5. 1.9 6 km SSE of Port Ludlow, Washington
  6. 2.0 2 km ENE of Granite Falls, Washington
  7. 2.0 1 km SE of Keyport, Washington
  8. 1.6 9 km NE of Duvall, Washington
  9. 1.9 1 km WSW of Freeland, Washington
  10. 1.6 1 km ENE of Enetai, Washington
  11. 1.7 2 km NNE of Southworth, Washington
  12. 2.0 2 km NE of Granite Falls, Washington
  13. 1.6 6 km NE of Port Townsend, Washington
  14. 1.7 6 km NE of Port Townsend, Washington
  15. 1.5 1 km SSE of Keyport, 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.