Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Ames Lake, WA
Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Ames Lake in the last 24 hours. M 2.0, 7 km (5 mi) NE of Ames Lake, at 8:48 am PST on 11 November 2026 (16:48 UTC); the estimated shaking in Ames Lake was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Ames Lake
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded in Ames Lake, WA, at 8:43 am PST on 26 January 2022 (16:43 UTC), 23 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 1 km E of Ames Lake, Washington
30 km (19 mi) E of Seattle, WA · 8 km (5 mi) ENE of Sammamish, WA
- When
- 8:43 am PST on 26 January 2022 ()
- Where
- in Ames Lake, WA · earthquakes near Ames Lake
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 23 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity I
- Nearest
- King County, 18 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 294 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Ames Lake, WA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Ames Lake, 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 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: Carnation, City of Sammamish, Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Union Hill-Novelty Hill, Klahanie, Fall City.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.4 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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 4.6 on 2019-07-12 — about 42,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.7 1 km ENE of Dash Point, Washington · 48 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.4 8 km NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 15 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.2 9 km NE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 16 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.0 4 km ENE of Machias, Washington · 41 km N of this epicentre
- 5.0 3 km WSW of Des Moines, Washington · 41 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 47.6317, -121.9525. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| King County, WA | 18 km (11 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near King County |
| Snohomish County, WA | 49 km (31 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Snohomish County |
| Kitsap County, WA | 52 km (32 mi) | W | earthquakes near Kitsap County |
| Pierce County, WA | 66 km (41 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Pierce County |
| Island County, WA | 79 km (49 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Island County |
| Skagit County, WA | 96 km (60 mi) | N | earthquakes near Skagit 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 2 km ESE of Wilderness Rim, Washington
- 1.5 12 km ESE of Riverbend, Washington
- 1.6 2 km NNE of Woods Creek, Washington
- 1.5 Washington
- 1.9 1 km NNW of Des Moines, Washington
- 2.0 Puget Sound region, Washington
- 2.4 0 km NW of Des Moines, Washington
- 1.7 2 km SSW of Burien, Washington
- 1.6 4 km ENE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington
- 1.5 3 km WSW of North Bend, Washington
- 1.5 3 km ENE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington
- 1.6 0 km SW of Esperance, Washington
- 1.5 Puget Sound region, Washington
- 2.2 7 km WSW of Seattle, Washington
- 1.9 3 km NNE of White Center, 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.