Earthquakes in Washington

Latest earthquakes in Washington, United States: 0 in the last 24 hours, 79 in the last 30 days. Updated Nov 10, 2026 00:18 UTC.

Washington has earthquakes from three different sources. Offshore, the Juan de Fuca plate slides beneath North America along the Cascadia Subduction Zone, which last ruptured in an earthquake estimated at about magnitude 9 on January 26, 1700. Beneath Puget Sound, the sinking plate also produces deeper earthquakes, such as the magnitude 6.8 Nisqually earthquake of February 28, 2001, about 52 km deep, which damaged buildings in Olympia and Seattle. And shallow faults in the crust, including the Seattle Fault, can also rupture. The USGS catalog lists a magnitude 6.7 earthquake near Olympia in April 1949 and another near Seattle-Tacoma in April 1965. The Cascade volcanoes, notably Mount St. Helens, produce their own swarms of small earthquakes. Most of what happens in Washington on a typical day is minor, and you can see it in the list below, which covers the last 30 days.