Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.5ml
Earthquake near Bellingham, WA
USGS: 16 km NNW of Orcas, Washington
41 km (25 mi) W of Bellingham, WA · 134 km (83 mi) NNW of Seattle, WA
- When
- 5:44 am PST on 24 January 2017 ()
- Where
- 39 km (24 mi) W of Bellingham, WA · earthquakes near Bellingham
- Magnitude
- M 2.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 18 km below the surface
- Felt
- 9 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- San Juan County, 26 km SSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Sandy 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 3453 days ago
A magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 39 km (24 mi) W of Bellingham, WA, at 5:44 am PST on 24 January 2017 (13:44 UTC). 9 people have reported feeling it to USGS. This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Friday Harbor, Point Roberts, Birch Bay.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 190 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 78,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 55,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4.9× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.5 about 190 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 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.0 San Juan Islands, Washington · 17 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.5 21 km SSE of Point Roberts, Washington · 8 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.1 10 km ESE of Salt Spring Island, Canada · 26 km WNW 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 48.7342, -123.0225. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Juan County, WA | 26 km (16 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Juan County |
| Island County, WA | 69 km (43 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Island County |
| Whatcom County, WA | 88 km (55 mi) | E | earthquakes near Whatcom County |
| Skagit County, WA | 93 km (58 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Skagit County |
| Clallam County, WA | 94 km (59 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Clallam County |
| Jefferson County, WA | 110 km (68 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Jefferson County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
55 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 13 km WNW of Orcas, Washington
- 1.9 3 km S of Marietta, Washington
- 1.7 2 km SSE of Six Mile, Canada
- 1.8 4 km N of Custer, Washington
- 1.8 22 km NW of Orcas, Washington
- 1.7 13 km W of Ault Field, Washington
- 2.9 7 km NW of La Conner, Washington
- 1.9 8 km NW of Friday Harbor, Washington
- 1.8 4 km S of Point Roberts, Washington
- 2.0 2 km S of Marietta, Washington
- 1.6 11 km NW of Friday Harbor, Washington
- 1.8 13 km S of Birch Bay, Washington
- 1.7 5 km E of Ferndale, Washington
- 1.8 0 km E of Six Mile, Canada
- 1.6 5 km NNW of Ault Field, 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
- 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.