QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Snoqualmie, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Snoqualmie in the 24 hours to 7:22 am PST (15:22 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 12 km (8 mi) S, at 6:09 pm PDT on 14 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 46 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Snoqualmie

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) north-northeast of Snoqualmie, WA, at 3:47 am PDT on 8 August 2023 (10:47 UTC), 17 km deep. 7 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 9 km NNE of Snoqualmie, Washington

44 km (27 mi) E of Seattle, WA · 20 km (13 mi) E of Sammamish, WA

3:47 am PDT, Aug 8, 2023 · · 17 km deep · released about 46 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N King County 13 kmSnohomish County 50 kmKitsap County 66 kmPierce County 68 kmChelan County 91 kmIsland County 91 kmKittitas County 98 kmSkagit County 99 kmThurston County 109 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
3:47 am PDT on 8 August 2023 ()
Where
9 km (6 mi) north-northeast of Snoqualmie, WA · earthquakes near Snoqualmie
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
17 km below the surface
Felt
7 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
King County, 13 km SSW
Nearest mapped fault
Rattlesnake Mountain fault, 8 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 1123 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 1 km (1 mi) from the epicentre. In Snoqualmie, 9 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, North Bend, Carnation, Tanner, Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Riverbend.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 46 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 330,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 230,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 21× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 46 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 4,900 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 · 19 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 9 km NE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 17 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 4 km ENE of Machias, Washington · 48 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 47.6015, -121.7688. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
King County, WA 13 km (8 mi) SSW earthquakes near King County
Snohomish County, WA 50 km (31 mi) N earthquakes near Snohomish County
Kitsap County, WA 66 km (41 mi) W earthquakes near Kitsap County
Pierce County, WA 68 km (42 mi) SSW earthquakes near Pierce County
Chelan County, WA 91 km (56 mi) ENE earthquakes near Chelan County
Island County, WA 91 km (57 mi) NW earthquakes near Island County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 2 km W of Kirkland, Washington
  2. 1.5 1 km ESE of Three Lakes, Washington
  3. 1.9 5 km E of Enumclaw, Washington
  4. 1.6 10 km NNE of Snoqualmie, Washington
  5. 2.5 10 km NE of Snoqualmie, Washington
  6. 1.7 3 km N of Woods Creek, Washington
  7. 1.9 11 km NE of Snoqualmie, Washington
  8. 1.5 5 km WSW of Black Diamond, Washington
  9. 1.9 3 km SSE of Woods Creek, Washington
  10. 1.6 4 km N of Woods Creek, Washington
  11. 2.2 3 km SW of Redmond, Washington
  12. 2.7 2 km E of Redmond, Washington
  13. 2.0 6 km NE of Snoqualmie, Washington
  14. 1.5 7 km NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington
  15. 2.3 1 km S of Fall City, 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.