Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.1ml
Earthquake near Seattle, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Seattle in the 24 hours to 3:22 pm PST (23:22 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 3.1 earthquake was recorded 35 km (22 mi) southwest of Seattle, WA, at 7:41 pm PDT on 22 October 2023 (02:41 UTC), 29 km deep. 214 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: Puget Sound region, Washington
35 km (22 mi) SW of Seattle, WA · 25 km (15 mi) NW of Tacoma, WA
- When
- 7:41 pm PDT on 22 October 2023 ()
- Where
- 35 km (22 mi) southwest of Seattle, WA · earthquakes near Seattle
- Magnitude
- M 3.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 29 km below the surface
- Felt
- 214 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity II (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Kitsap County, 26 km N
- Nearest mapped fault
- Tacoma 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 904 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Seattle, WA
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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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 26 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Seattle, 35 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.
Likely felt in: Artondale 13 km, intensity II · Bremerton 18 km, intensity II · Enetai 21 km, intensity II · University Place 22 km, intensity II · Tacoma 26 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,100 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 300,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 13,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 9,400× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,100 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.2× more
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 36 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.8 The 2001 Nisqually, Washington Earthquake · 29 km S of this epicentre
- 6.7 4 km WNW of Roy, Washington · 44 km S of this epicentre
- 6.7 1 km ENE of Dash Point, Washington · 23 km ESE of this epicentre
- 6.1 Puget Sound region, Washington · 4 km W of this epicentre
- 5.8 Puget Sound area, Washington · 21 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 47.4075, -122.6972. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kitsap County, WA | 26 km (16 mi) | N | earthquakes near Kitsap County |
| Mason County, WA | 36 km (23 mi) | W | earthquakes near Mason County |
| Thurston County, WA | 53 km (33 mi) | S | earthquakes near Thurston County |
| Pierce County, WA | 57 km (35 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Pierce County |
| King County, WA | 66 km (41 mi) | E | earthquakes near King County |
| Jefferson County, WA | 76 km (47 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Jefferson County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
50 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 3 km SE of Fife, Washington
- 1.8 3 km S of Southworth, Washington
- 2.6 6 km NW of Belfair, Washington
- 1.7 1 km NE of White Center, Washington
- 1.8 1 km E of Enetai, Washington
- 2.2 3 km SW of Redmond, Washington
- 1.7 2 km NW of Manchester, Washington
- 1.6 6 km SSW of Shelton, Washington
- 2.5 4 km WSW of Artondale, Washington
- 2.0 6 km WNW of Lofall, Washington
- 1.7 10 km S of Seabeck, Washington
- 2.6 7 km WNW of Lofall, Washington
- 2.3 0 km ESE of Waller, Washington
- 1.9 6 km ENE of Lofall, Washington
- 2.2 8 km ENE of Quilcene, 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.