Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9ml
10 km N of Sooke, Canada
Yes. A magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 10 km N of Sooke, Canada, at 9:34 pm PDT on 7 May 2023 (04:34 UTC), 12 km deep. 11 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
- When
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 12 km below the surface
- Felt
- 11 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Clallam County, 42 km SSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Utsalady Point fault, 19 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1209 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Port Angeles, WA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Port Angeles, WA. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. 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 21 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 710,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 500,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 45× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 21 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.
Where
Epicentre 48.4676, -123.7017. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clallam County, WA | 42 km (26 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Clallam County |
| San Juan County, WA | 44 km (28 mi) | E | earthquakes near San Juan County |
| Jefferson County, WA | 75 km (46 mi) | S | earthquakes near Jefferson County |
| Island County, WA | 84 km (52 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Island County |
| Kitsap County, WA | 121 km (75 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Kitsap County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
48 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.3 4 km NNW of Victoria, Canada
- 1.4 8 km SW of Port Angeles, Washington
- 1.8 2 km S of Colwood, Canada
- 0.7 3 km N of North Saanich, Canada
- 1.5 3 km N of Langford, Canada
- 0.9 2 km ENE of Six Mile, Canada
- 0.4 6 km ENE of Oak Bay, Canada
- 1.2 7 km N of Six Mile, Canada
- 1.7 8 km SSE of Oak Bay, Canada
- 1.7 14 km SW of Cowichan Bay, Canada
- 1.9 14 km NNE of Port Angeles East, Washington
- 1.9 10 km S of Cowichan Bay, Canada
- 2.4 11 km S of Metchosin, Canada
- 1.9 10 km ESE of Salt Spring Island, Canada
- 1.6 3 km N of Langford, Canada
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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.