QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near City of Sammamish, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in City of Sammamish in the 24 hours to 5:47 am PST (13:47 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 56 km (35 mi) WSW, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near City of Sammamish

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 46 km (29 mi) east of City of Sammamish, WA, at 9:05 am PDT on 12 May 2024 (16:05 UTC), 9.6 km deep.

USGS: 14 km N of Snoqualmie Pass, Washington

70 km (43 mi) E of Seattle, WA · 46 km (29 mi) E of Sammamish, WA

9:05 am PDT, May 12, 2024 · · 9.6 km deep · released about 7.8 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N King County 31 kmSnohomish County 64 kmChelan County 71 kmKittitas County 72 kmPierce County 76 kmKitsap County 92 kmSkagit County 112 kmIsland County 116 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
9:05 am PDT on 12 May 2024 ()
Where
46 km (29 mi) east of City of Sammamish, WA · earthquakes near City of Sammamish
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
9.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
King County, 31 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 913 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 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In City of Sammamish, 46 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: Tanner, Riverbend, Wilderness Rim, North Bend, Snoqualmie.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.8 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 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.8 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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

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

  1. 5.4 8 km NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 43 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 9 km NE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 39 km NW 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 47.5242, -121.4298. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
King County, WA 31 km (19 mi) W earthquakes near King County
Snohomish County, WA 64 km (40 mi) NNW earthquakes near Snohomish County
Chelan County, WA 71 km (44 mi) ENE earthquakes near Chelan County
Kittitas County, WA 72 km (45 mi) SE earthquakes near Kittitas County
Pierce County, WA 76 km (47 mi) SW earthquakes near Pierce County
Kitsap County, WA 92 km (57 mi) W earthquakes near Kitsap County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 9 km ENE of Snoqualmie, Washington
  2. 2.1 10 km NNE of Snoqualmie, Washington
  3. 2.8 3 km NE of Fall City, Washington
  4. 2.3 7 km NE of Snoqualmie, Washington
  5. 2.2 2 km SSE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington
  6. 1.6 4 km WSW of Wilderness Rim, Washington
  7. 1.9 7 km S of Woods Creek, Washington
  8. 1.7 7 km NNE of May Creek, Washington
  9. 1.7 17 km W of Leavenworth, Washington
  10. 1.6 12 km E of Greenwater, Washington
  11. 1.8 8 km NE of Fall City, Washington
  12. 1.7 11 km E of Greenwater, Washington
  13. 2.4 10 km NNE of Snoqualmie, Washington
  14. 1.7 9 km ENE of Snoqualmie, Washington
  15. 3.7 12 km E of Greenwater, 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.