QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Morton, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Morton in the 24 hours to 10:52 pm PST (06:52 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 100 km (62 mi) NNW, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Morton

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 46 km (29 mi) east of Morton, WA, at 11:15 am PDT on 24 July 2026 (18:15 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 3 km S of Packwood, Washington

11:15 am PDT, Jul 24, 2026 · · 11 km deep · released about 8.7 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lewis County 54 kmPierce County 64 kmSkamania County 65 kmYakima County 73 kmCowlitz County 88 kmThurston County 97 kmKittitas County 97 kmKing County 102 kmKlickitat 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
11:15 am PDT on 24 July 2026 ()
Where
46 km (29 mi) east of Morton, WA · earthquakes near Morton
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lewis County, 54 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 112 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 4 km (2 mi) from the epicentre. In Morton, 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 8.7 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 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.7 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 one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.0 23 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 22 km ESE 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 46.5778, -121.6735. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lewis County, WA 54 km (33 mi) W earthquakes near Lewis County
Pierce County, WA 64 km (40 mi) NW earthquakes near Pierce County
Skamania County, WA 65 km (40 mi) SSW earthquakes near Skamania County
Yakima County, WA 73 km (45 mi) E earthquakes near Yakima County
Cowlitz County, WA 88 km (55 mi) WSW earthquakes near Cowlitz County
Thurston County, WA 97 km (60 mi) WNW earthquakes near Thurston County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 2 km SW of Ashford, Washington
  2. 0.2 7 km NNE of Ashford, Washington
  3. 0.0 7 km NE of Ashford, Washington
  4. 0.1 7 km NNE of Ashford, Washington
  5. -0.3 23 km ENE of Ashford, Washington
  6. 0.9 2 km SW of Ashford, Washington
  7. 0.5 13 km SE of Carbonado, Washington
  8. 0.3 15 km SSE of Carbonado, Washington
  9. 0.1 16 km NNE of Ashford, Washington
  10. 0.7 6 km E of Ashford, Washington
  11. -0.2 7 km E of Ashford, Washington
  12. -0.1 13 km NNE of Ashford, Washington
  13. 1.0 23 km N of Trout Lake, Washington
  14. 0.8 24 km N of Trout Lake, Washington
  15. 0.8 23 km N of Trout Lake, 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.