QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Arlington, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Arlington in the 24 hours to 7:19 pm PST (03:19 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 18 km (11 mi) SE, at 2:29 pm PDT on 30 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Arlington

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) north of Arlington, WA, at 1:52 pm PDT on 30 July 2017 (20:52 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 7 km W of Lake Cavanaugh, Washington

79 km (49 mi) NNE of Seattle, WA · 26 km (16 mi) N of Marysville, WA

1:52 pm PDT, Jul 30, 2017 · · 11 km deep · released about 8.4 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Skagit County 30 kmSnohomish County 39 kmIsland County 45 kmWhatcom County 62 kmSan Juan County 76 kmKitsap County 85 kmKing County 94 kmJefferson County 119 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
1:52 pm PDT on 30 July 2017 ()
Where
13 km (8 mi) north of Arlington, WA · earthquakes near Arlington
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Skagit County, 30 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3389 days ago

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 3 km (2 mi) from the epicentre. In Arlington, 13 km away, the estimate is intensity II (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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Bryant, Big Lake, Arlington Heights, Clear Lake, Smokey Point, Mount Vernon.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 8.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.4 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 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.0 4 km ENE of Machias, Washington · 36 km SSE of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 6 km W of Conway, Washington · 23 km W 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 48.3162, -122.1173. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Skagit County, WA 30 km (18 mi) NE earthquakes near Skagit County
Snohomish County, WA 39 km (24 mi) SE earthquakes near Snohomish County
Island County, WA 45 km (28 mi) WSW earthquakes near Island County
Whatcom County, WA 62 km (39 mi) NNE earthquakes near Whatcom County
San Juan County, WA 76 km (47 mi) WNW earthquakes near San Juan County
Kitsap County, WA 85 km (53 mi) SSW earthquakes near Kitsap County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

56 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.3 5 km NNE of Alger, Washington
  2. 1.6 3 km NNW of Hamilton, Washington
  3. 2.0 2 km ENE of Granite Falls, Washington
  4. 1.9 1 km WSW of Freeland, Washington
  5. 2.1 6 km SSE of Acme, Washington
  6. 2.0 2 km NE of Granite Falls, Washington
  7. 1.6 7 km SSW of Geneva, Washington
  8. 2.1 10 km SW of Swede Heaven, Washington
  9. 2.0 3 km E of Granite Falls, Washington
  10. 1.8 12 km S of Darrington, Washington
  11. 1.5 12 km S of Darrington, Washington
  12. 1.6 3 km SE of Warm Beach, Washington
  13. 1.7 4 km N of Weallup Lake, Washington
  14. 1.8 3 km ENE of Granite Falls, Washington
  15. 1.7 6 km SSE of Acme, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.