Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.7ml
Earthquake near Seattle, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Seattle in the 24 hours to 7:13 am PST (15:13 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 37 km (23 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 Seattle
This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 34 km (21 mi) west-southwest of Seattle, WA, at 12:55 pm PST on 23 January 2018 (20:55 UTC), 51 km deep. 10 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 5 km W of Gorst, Washington
33 km (21 mi) WSW of Seattle, WA · 33 km (20 mi) W of Burien, WA
- When
- 12:55 pm PST on 23 January 2018 ()
- Where
- 34 km (21 mi) west-southwest of Seattle, WA · earthquakes near Seattle
- Magnitude
- M 2.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 51 km below the surface
- Felt
- 10 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Kitsap County, 16 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Seattle fault, 4 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 3129 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Seattle, WA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Seattle, WA. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Seattle, 34 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: Navy Yard City, Belfair, Erlands Point-Kitsap Lake, Port Orchard, Chico, Rocky Point.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 330 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 46,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 33,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.9× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.7 about 330 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 130 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.8 The 2001 Nisqually, Washington Earthquake · 42 km S of this epicentre
- 6.7 1 km ENE of Dash Point, Washington · 35 km SE of this epicentre
- 6.1 Puget Sound region, Washington · 14 km S of this epicentre
- 5.8 Puget Sound area, Washington · 29 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.3 Eastern Olympic Peninsula, Washington · 35 km NNW 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 47.5247, -122.7732. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kitsap County, WA | 16 km (10 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Kitsap County |
| Mason County, WA | 36 km (22 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Mason County |
| Jefferson County, WA | 65 km (40 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Jefferson County |
| Thurston County, WA | 66 km (41 mi) | S | earthquakes near Thurston County |
| Pierce County, WA | 70 km (44 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Pierce County |
| King County, WA | 71 km (44 mi) | E | earthquakes near King County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
56 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 8 km S of Seabeck, Washington
- 1.7 3 km NE of Southworth, Washington
- 1.8 1 km WSW of Belfair, Washington
- 1.8 2 km SE of Manchester, Washington
- 2.1 4 km ENE of Dash Point, Washington
- 1.7 2 km SSE of Manchester, Washington
- 1.6 2 km SE of Manchester, Washington
- 1.6 2 km NE of Shoreline, Washington
- 2.8 2 km NNW of Fircrest, Washington
- 1.7 1 km SE of Keyport, Washington
- 1.5 3 km SSE of Des Moines, Washington
- 1.8 3 km S of Suquamish, Washington
- 1.6 4 km NE of Bainbridge Island, Washington
- 1.5 2 km ESE of Manchester, Washington
- 1.9 3 km E 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.