QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Wilderness Rim, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Wilderness Rim in the 24 hours to 7:22 am PST (15:22 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 6 km (3 mi) SW, at 6:09 pm PDT on 14 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 46 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Wilderness Rim

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 12 km (7 mi) south of Wilderness Rim, WA, at 9:49 pm PDT on 26 September 2018 (04:49 UTC), 16 km deep.

USGS: 11 km S of Wilderness Rim, Washington

53 km (33 mi) SE of Seattle, WA · 33 km (20 mi) E of Auburn, WA

9:49 pm PDT, Sep 26, 2018 · · 16 km deep · released about 6.8 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Wilderness Rim Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N King County 17 kmPierce County 43 kmKitsap County 73 kmSnohomish County 79 kmKittitas County 87 kmThurston County 91 kmLewis County 96 kmChelan County 104 kmMason County 105 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
9:49 pm PDT on 26 September 2018 ()
Where
12 km (7 mi) south of Wilderness Rim, WA · earthquakes near Wilderness Rim
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
16 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
King County, 17 km NNW
Nearest mapped fault
Rattlesnake Mountain fault, 6 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 601 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 Wilderness Rim, 12 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: Riverbend, Tanner, Ravensdale, Hobart, North Bend, Black Diamond.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.8 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.8 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. 6.7 1 km ENE of Dash Point, Washington · 47 km W of this epicentre
  2. 5.4 8 km NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 47 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 9 km NE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 45 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 3 km WSW of Des Moines, Washington · 44 km W 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 47.3438, -121.7807. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
King County, WA 17 km (10 mi) NNW earthquakes near King County
Pierce County, WA 43 km (27 mi) SW earthquakes near Pierce County
Kitsap County, WA 73 km (45 mi) WNW earthquakes near Kitsap County
Snohomish County, WA 79 km (49 mi) N earthquakes near Snohomish County
Kittitas County, WA 87 km (54 mi) ESE earthquakes near Kittitas County
Thurston County, WA 91 km (57 mi) WSW earthquakes near Thurston County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 1 km E of Snoqualmie, Washington
  2. 1.7 2 km ESE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington
  3. 1.5 2 km S of Black Diamond, Washington
  4. 2.6 1 km NE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington
  5. 1.7 2 km WNW of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington
  6. 1.9 1 km NW of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington
  7. 1.6 6 km NE of Fall City, Washington
  8. 1.5 5 km NE of Fall City, Washington
  9. 3.2 7 km ENE of Fall City, Washington
  10. 2.3 6 km NE of Fall City, Washington
  11. 2.2 2 km ESE of Duvall, Washington
  12. 1.8 3 km NE of Mirrormont, Washington
  13. 1.6 6 km NE of Fall City, Washington
  14. 1.6 6 km NE of Fall City, Washington
  15. 1.9 3 km WSW of Wilderness Rim, 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.