QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Everett, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Everett in the 24 hours to 5:17 am PST (13:17 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 75 km (47 mi) SSW, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Everett

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) west of Everett, WA, at 8:55 pm PST on 29 December 2023 (04:55 UTC), 18 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 2 km W of Clinton, Washington

40 km (25 mi) N of Seattle, WA · 15 km (9 mi) W of Everett, WA

8:55 pm PST, Dec 29, 2023 · · 18 km deep · released about 6.6 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Island County 29 kmKitsap County 42 kmSnohomish County 48 kmKing County 68 kmSkagit County 72 kmSan Juan County 79 kmJefferson County 87 kmMason County 91 kmPierce County 104 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
8:55 pm PST on 29 December 2023 ()
Where
14 km (9 mi) west of Everett, WA · earthquakes near Everett
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
18 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Island County, 29 km NW
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 985 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 Everett, 14 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: Mukilteo, Langley, Tulalip Bay, Freeland, Picnic Point, Tulalip.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.6 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 2,300,000× 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 6.6 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 34,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.4 8 km NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 45 km ESE of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 Eastern Olympic Peninsula, Washington · 49 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 9 km NE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 49 km ESE of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 4 km ENE of Machias, Washington · 29 km E of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 6 km W of Conway, Washington · 40 km N 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 47.9742, -122.3932. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Island County, WA 29 km (18 mi) NW earthquakes near Island County
Kitsap County, WA 42 km (26 mi) SSW earthquakes near Kitsap County
Snohomish County, WA 48 km (30 mi) E earthquakes near Snohomish County
King County, WA 68 km (42 mi) SE earthquakes near King County
Skagit County, WA 72 km (45 mi) NE earthquakes near Skagit County
San Juan County, WA 79 km (49 mi) NW earthquakes near San Juan County

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

Aftershocks so far

54 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. 2.0 0 km WSW of Lynnwood, Washington
  4. 1.7 3 km N of Woods Creek, Washington
  5. 1.7 4 km E of Lake Bosworth, Washington
  6. 1.7 4 km WNW of Bainbridge Island, Washington
  7. 1.6 2 km N of Edmonds, Washington
  8. 1.6 2 km ENE of Granite Falls, Washington
  9. 2.0 1 km SE of Coupeville, Washington
  10. 1.9 3 km SSE of Woods Creek, Washington
  11. 1.6 4 km N of Woods Creek, Washington
  12. 1.6 6 km SSW of Port Ludlow, Washington
  13. 1.7 1 km ESE of Oso, Washington
  14. 1.7 1 km NE of White Center, Washington
  15. 1.8 1 km E of Enetai, 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.