QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Seattle, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Seattle in the 24 hours to 11:45 pm PST (07:45 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 1.8 earthquake was recorded 42 km (26 mi) west-northwest of Seattle, WA, at 7:14 pm PDT on 10 March 2024 (02:14 UTC), 23 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 5 km SE of Quilcene, Washington

40 km (25 mi) WNW of Seattle, WA · 36 km (22 mi) W of Shoreline, WA

7:14 pm PDT, Mar 10, 2024 · · 23 km deep · released about 14 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kitsap County 21 kmIsland County 43 kmJefferson County 52 kmMason County 55 kmKing County 81 kmSan Juan County 83 kmSnohomish County 85 kmClallam County 87 kmThurston County 94 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
7:14 pm PDT on 10 March 2024 ()
Where
42 km (26 mi) west-northwest of Seattle, WA · earthquakes near Seattle
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
23 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Kitsap County, 21 km SE
Nearest mapped fault
Seattle fault, 18 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 976 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 Seattle, 42 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: Bangor Trident Base, Lofall, Poulsbo, Seabeck, Silverdale, Port Ludlow.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 14 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 790,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 70× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 14 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 4.3 on 2023-10-09 — about 6,500 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.1 Puget Sound region, Washington · 43 km S of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 Eastern Olympic Peninsula, Washington · 13 km W 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 47.7850, -122.8255. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kitsap County, WA 21 km (13 mi) SE earthquakes near Kitsap County
Island County, WA 43 km (27 mi) NNE earthquakes near Island County
Jefferson County, WA 52 km (33 mi) W earthquakes near Jefferson County
Mason County, WA 55 km (34 mi) SSW earthquakes near Mason County
King County, WA 81 km (50 mi) ESE earthquakes near King County
San Juan County, WA 83 km (52 mi) NNW earthquakes near San Juan County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 6 km WNW of Lofall, Washington
  2. 1.7 5 km WSW of Clinton, Washington
  3. 1.6 5 km N of Port Townsend, Washington
  4. 1.8 6 km WSW of Port Hadlock-Irondale, Washington
  5. 1.7 7 km WSW of Quilcene, Washington
  6. 1.6 1 km SW of Burien, Washington
  7. 1.8 4 km SSW of Port Ludlow, Washington
  8. 2.3 3 km WNW of Navy Yard City, Washington
  9. 1.7 2 km N of White Center, Washington
  10. 1.6 7 km ESE of Quilcene, Washington
  11. 1.8 5 km NE of Kingston, Washington
  12. 1.9 4 km WNW of Gorst, Washington
  13. 2.0 9 km W of Coupeville, Washington
  14. 1.9 2 km E of Belfair, Washington
  15. 1.8 4 km NNW of Port Townsend, 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.