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Earthquakes Near Me / Washington

Washington Earthquakes: Recent Quakes and the Largest on Record

Washington averages 31 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more a year (2016 to 2025), and the largest in the USGS catalog since 1900 is the M6.8 of February 28, 2001, the Nisqually, Washington Earthquake.

Live from the USGS

Earthquakes near Seattle in the last 30 days

Every quake within 155 miles of Seattle, Washington’s largest city, newest first. For your own address, enter a ZIP code.

Within
Magnitude
Reading the USGS earthquake catalog for magnitude 1.5 and up within 155 miles of Seattle.

Live from the USGS earthquake catalog. Times are Pacific time; felt reports and the shaking level come from Did You Feel It? A new quake can take a few minutes to appear and its magnitude can be revised.

Washington by the numbers

USGS catalog, read October 10, 2026
31
Quakes of M2.5+ a year
the average, 2016 to 2025
13th
Rank of 50 states
by quakes of M2.5+ a year
M6.8
Largest since 1900
February 28, 2001
6
M3+ in 2026
through October 10, 2026

Washington averages 31 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more a year, counting 310 from 2016 to 2025, which ranks it 13th of the fifty states.

Since 1990

Washington earthquakes by year

The USGS catalog lists 778 earthquakes of magnitude 3 or more in Washington from 1990 to 2025, the most in 2004 (289). 2016 to 2025: 89; 2006 to 2015: 166.

Magnitude 3 and up in Washington, 1990 to 2025; the tallest bar is 289. From the USGS catalog, read October 10, 2026.
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Since 1900

The 10 largest earthquakes in Washington

The largest earthquake in Washington in the USGS catalog since 1900 is the M6.8 of February 28, 2001, the Nisqually, Washington Earthquake. The most recent of magnitude 4 or more was the M4.2 of September 29, 2026, 6 km WNW of Wauna, Washington.

  1. 1M6.8
    The 2001 Nisqually, Washington EarthquakeFebruary 28, 2001, 32 mi (52 km) deep
  2. 2M6.7
    4 km WNW of Roy, WashingtonApril 13, 1949, 31 mi (50 km) deep
  3. 3M6.7
    1 km ENE of Dash Point, WashingtonApril 29, 1965, 40 mi (64 km) deep
  4. 4M6.1
    Puget Sound region, WashingtonNovember 13, 1939, 34 mi (55 km) deep
  5. 5M6.0
    San Juan Islands, WashingtonJanuary 11, 1909
  6. 6M6.0
    3 km SW of Garrett, WashingtonJuly 16, 1936, 6.2 mi (10 km) deep
  7. 7M5.8
    Puget Sound area, WashingtonFebruary 15, 1946, 16 mi (25 km) deep
  8. 8M5.8
    8 km N of Satsop, WashingtonJuly 3, 1999, 25 mi (40 km) deep
  9. 9M5.7
    38 km NNE of Amboy, WashingtonMay 18, 1980, 0.9 mi (2 km) deep
  10. 10M5.6
    Near Marblemount, WashingtonAugust 18, 1915

From the USGS ComCat catalog, every magnitude since 1900, read October 10, 2026. Each place links to the quake’s USGS page.

The faults

Fault zones in Washington

  • Cascadia subduction zone
  • Seattle fault
  • Southern Whidbey Island fault zone
  • Devils Mountain fault zone
“But there are longer crustal faults, such as the Seattle fault and the Southern Whidbey Island fault zone, that are long enough to produce large earthquakes up to magnitude ~7.5.”

Named by the Washington Geological Survey (Washington State Department of Natural Resources), read October 9, 2026.

When it shakes

What to do in an earthquake

  1. 1

    Drop

    Drop where you are onto hands and knees.

  2. 2

    Cover

    Cover your head and neck with one arm and hand. If a sturdy table or desk is nearby, crawl underneath it for shelter. If no shelter is nearby, crawl next to an interior wall (away from windows). Stay on your knees; bend over to protect vital organs.

  3. 3

    Hold On

    Hold until the shaking stops. If under shelter, hold on with one hand and be ready to move with it when the shelter moves. If not under shelter, hold on to your head and neck with both arms and hands.

Ready.gov’s words, from Ready.gov: Earthquakes (updated Sep 9, 2026, read October 9, 2026). Practice it with The Great ShakeOut: Earthquake Drills.

A seismograph drum wrapped in paper with rows of ink traces, the pen drawing a new line as the drum turns
A seismogram being recorded by a seismograph at the Weston Observatory in Massachusetts. “Seismogram at Weston Observatory” by Z22, CC BY-SA 3.0
Questions

Washington earthquake questions

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Other states

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Earthquakes near any ZIP code

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Sources. The live list: the USGS FDSN event service. Washington’s counts and largest quakes: the USGS ComCat catalog, read October 10, 2026, counted inside the state’s Census boundary and within 150 km of its coast where USGS names the state. Seattle: the state’s most populous city in the Census Vintage 2024 estimates. Older years hold fewer small quakes because fewer instruments were listening.

Hero photograph: the San Andreas Fault across the Carrizo Plain. “Kluft-photo-Carrizo-Plain-Nov-2007-Img 0327” by Ikluft, CC BY-SA 4.0