Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.4ml
Earthquake near Freeland, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Freeland in the 24 hours to 6:36 am PST (14:36 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 69 km (43 mi) SSW, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Freeland
This page: a magnitude 3.4 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) southeast of Freeland, WA, at 10:56 am PDT on 11 May 2017 (17:56 UTC), 24 km deep. 594 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6 km SE of Freeland, Washington
39 km (24 mi) NNW of Seattle, WA · 21 km (13 mi) W of Everett, WA
- When
- 10:56 am PDT on 11 May 2017 ()
- Where
- 7 km (4 mi) southeast of Freeland, WA · earthquakes near Freeland
- Magnitude
- M 3.4 (ml)
- Depth
- 24 km below the surface
- Felt
- 594 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity III (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Island County, 27 km NW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Southern Whidbey Island fault, 2 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 3391 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Freeland, WA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Freeland, 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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 54 km (34 mi) from the epicentre. In Freeland, 7 km away, the estimate is intensity III (weak). 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.
Likely felt in: Edmonds 18 km, intensity II · Lynnwood 19 km, intensity II · Everett 20 km, intensity II · Marysville 24 km, intensity II · Camano 24 km, intensity II · Shoreline 25 km, intensity II · North Creek 27 km, intensity II · Port Townsend 28 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 2.1 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.4 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 80,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 3,600× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,500× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.4 about 2.1 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 4.4× more
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 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.4 8 km NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 49 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.3 Eastern Olympic Peninsula, Washington · 44 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.0 4 km ENE of Machias, Washington · 35 km E of this epicentre
- 5.0 6 km W of Conway, Washington · 41 km N 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 47.9617, -122.4663. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Island County, WA | 27 km (17 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Island County |
| Kitsap County, WA | 38 km (24 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Kitsap County |
| Snohomish County, WA | 53 km (33 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Snohomish County |
| King County, WA | 71 km (44 mi) | SE | earthquakes near King County |
| Skagit County, WA | 76 km (47 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Skagit County |
| San Juan County, WA | 77 km (48 mi) | NW | earthquakes near San Juan County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
57 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 1 km NE of Enetai, Washington
- 1.8 4 km WSW of Inglewood-Finn Hill, Washington
- 1.5 2 km ENE of Union Hill-Novelty Hill, Washington
- 1.6 1 km NE of Yarrow Point, Washington
- 2.0 5 km WSW of Chico, Washington
- 1.7 3 km E of Granite Falls, Washington
- 1.8 8 km NE of Bainbridge Island, Washington
- 1.7 3 km SW of Port Ludlow, Washington
- 2.0 3 km E of Granite Falls, Washington
- 2.7 6 km S of Coupeville, Washington
- 1.6 2 km SE of Maltby, Washington
- 2.5 2 km ESE of Enetai, Washington
- 2.0 1 km NE of Enetai, Washington
- 1.9 2 km ENE of Enetai, Washington
- 1.7 2 km ESE of Conway, 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.