QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.2ml

Earthquake near Cathcart, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Cathcart in the 24 hours to 12:05 am PST (08:05 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 68 km (42 mi) SW, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Cathcart

This page: a magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded in Cathcart, WA, at 9:26 am PST on 24 February 2022 (17:26 UTC), 25 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 1 km NNE of Cathcart, Washington

13 km (8 mi) NE of Bothell, WA · 33 km (21 mi) NE of Seattle, WA

9:26 am PST, Feb 24, 2022 · · 25 km deep · released about 52 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Snohomish County 33 kmKing County 46 kmKitsap County 48 kmIsland County 54 kmSkagit County 73 kmPierce County 90 kmMason County 99 kmSan Juan County 104 kmJefferson County 107 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
9:26 am PST on 24 February 2022 ()
Where
in Cathcart, WA · earthquakes near Cathcart
Magnitude
M 2.2 (ml)
Depth
25 km below the surface
Felt
3 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Snohomish County, 33 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
Southern Whidbey Island 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 1721 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: Clearview, Silver Firs, Snohomish, Maltby, Mill Creek East, North Creek.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 52 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 290,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 200,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 18× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 52 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 4,300 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.4 8 km NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 20 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 9 km NE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 23 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 4 km ENE of Machias, Washington · 17 km NNE 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 47.8607, -122.0947. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Snohomish County, WA 33 km (20 mi) NE earthquakes near Snohomish County
King County, WA 46 km (28 mi) SSE earthquakes near King County
Kitsap County, WA 48 km (30 mi) WSW earthquakes near Kitsap County
Island County, WA 54 km (34 mi) NW earthquakes near Island County
Skagit County, WA 73 km (46 mi) NNE earthquakes near Skagit County
Pierce County, WA 90 km (56 mi) S earthquakes near Pierce County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 2 km E of Granite Falls, Washington
  2. 2.7 4 km E of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington
  3. 1.6 3 km N of Kingston, Washington
  4. 2.4 1 km SE of Manchester, Washington
  5. 1.8 8 km SSW of Sultan, Washington
  6. 2.3 3 km WNW of Duvall, Washington
  7. 1.6 6 km ENE of Mirrormont, Washington
  8. 1.8 2 km E of Granite Falls, Washington
  9. 1.6 Puget Sound region, Washington
  10. 1.5 4 km SSW of Clinton, Washington
  11. 1.6 2 km E of Granite Falls, Washington
  12. 1.7 4 km SW of White Center, Washington
  13. 1.8 3 km WSW of White Center, Washington
  14. 1.8 3 km NNW of Picnic Point, Washington
  15. 1.6 4 km NE of Granite Falls, 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.