QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Ames Lake, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Ames Lake in the 24 hours to 9:57 am PST (17:57 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 62 km (39 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 Ames Lake

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) southeast of Ames Lake, WA, at 6:50 pm PST on 1 January 2018 (02:50 UTC), 25 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 4 km SE of Ames Lake, Washington

8 km (5 mi) E of Sammamish, WA · 32 km (20 mi) E of Seattle, WA

6:50 pm PST, Jan 1, 2018 · · 25 km deep · released about 13 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ames Lake Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N King County 14 kmSnohomish County 52 kmKitsap County 54 kmPierce County 63 kmIsland County 83 kmMason County 97 kmSkagit County 100 kmThurston County 100 kmChelan County 102 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
6:50 pm PST on 1 January 2018 ()
Where
4 km (3 mi) southeast of Ames Lake, WA · earthquakes near Ames Lake
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
25 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
King County, 14 km SSE
Nearest mapped fault
Rattlesnake Mountain 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 3237 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 Ames Lake, 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: Fall City, Carnation, Klahanie, City of Sammamish, Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Issaquah.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 13 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 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 840,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 75× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 13 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. 6.7 1 km ENE of Dash Point, Washington · 47 km SW of this epicentre
  2. 5.4 8 km NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 18 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 9 km NE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 18 km NNE of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 4 km ENE of Machias, Washington · 45 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 3 km WSW of Des Moines, Washington · 40 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 47.6012, -121.9302. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
King County, WA 14 km (9 mi) SSE earthquakes near King County
Snohomish County, WA 52 km (32 mi) NNE earthquakes near Snohomish County
Kitsap County, WA 54 km (34 mi) W earthquakes near Kitsap County
Pierce County, WA 63 km (39 mi) SSW earthquakes near Pierce County
Island County, WA 83 km (52 mi) NW earthquakes near Island County
Mason County, WA 97 km (61 mi) WSW earthquakes near Mason 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. 2.2 5 km ENE of Lake Roesiger, Washington
  2. 2.2 0 km S of Union Hill-Novelty Hill, Washington
  3. 1.7 1 km WSW of Mountlake Terrace, Washington
  4. 1.7 11 km ESE of Enumclaw, Washington
  5. 2.2 15 km NE of May Creek, Washington
  6. 2.0 11 km ENE of Enumclaw, Washington
  7. 1.7 3 km NE of Southworth, Washington
  8. 2.1 4 km ENE of Dash Point, Washington
  9. 1.6 2 km NE of Shoreline, Washington
  10. 1.5 3 km SSE of Des Moines, Washington
  11. 2.1 6 km E of Carnation, Washington
  12. 1.6 4 km NE of Bainbridge Island, Washington
  13. 1.9 3 km E of Indianola, Washington
  14. 1.5 7 km ESE of Carnation, Washington
  15. 1.9 1 km SE of Dash Point, 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.