Washington earthquakes

M2.3 earthquake 3 km S of Seattle, Washington

A magnitude 2.3 earthquake struck 3 km S of Seattle, Washington on Wed, Mar 11, 1987, 9:33 AM PST (17:33 UTC), 12 km (8 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.8 3 km SW of Swede Heaven, Washington. This one was a foreshock.

Seattle forecastMore in Washington

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

The earthquake

Magnitude
2.3 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1987-03-11 17:33:33 UTC
Depth
12.5 km (7.7 mi), shallow
Epicenter
47.574° N, 122.339° W
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty
About 0.3 km horizontally, 1.4 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.06
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
69°
Stations used
31

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 12 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.61 km SSW of Mercer Island, Washington · 14439 days ago · 5 km deep · 8 km away
  2. 2.83 km SW of Swede Heaven, Washington · 14434 days ago · 3 km deep · 87 km away
  3. 1.50 km SSW of Echo Lake, Washington · 14433 days ago · 21 km deep · 32 km away
  4. 2.13 km SSW of Swede Heaven, Washington · 14432 days ago · 3 km deep · 87 km away
  5. 2.27 km ENE of Lofall, Washington · 14422 days ago · 8 km deep · 35 km away
  6. 2.83 km SSW of Swede Heaven, Washington · 14415 days ago · 1 km deep · 88 km away
  7. 2.61 km NE of Riverton, Washington · 14413 days ago · 25 km deep · 10 km away
  8. 1.78 km NNE of Snoqualmie, Washington · 14412 days ago · 8 km deep · 43 km away
  9. 1.61 km NE of Riverton, Washington · 14410 days ago · 24 km deep · 10 km away
  10. 2.51 km NE of Riverton, Washington · 14405 days ago · 23 km deep · 10 km away
  11. 1.61 km NNW of Fall City, Washington · 14400 days ago · 8 km deep · 33 km away
  12. 2.83 km W of Chico, Washington · 14392 days ago · 20 km deep · 32 km away

Before

  1. 1.84 km E of Brinnon, Washington · 14460 days ago · 14 km deep · 40 km away

Earthquakes todayWashington earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10216318. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:09 AM UTC.