Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.2ml
Earthquake near Arlington, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Arlington in the 24 hours to 3:43 pm PST (23:43 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 2.2 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) west of Arlington, WA, at 2:38 am PST on 16 December 2017 (10:38 UTC), 15 km deep. 9 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 4 km E of Silvana, Washington
13 km (8 mi) NNW of Marysville, WA · 65 km (41 mi) N of Seattle, WA
- When
- 2:38 am PST on 16 December 2017 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) west of Arlington, WA · earthquakes near Arlington
- Magnitude
- M 2.2 (ml)
- Depth
- 15 km below the surface
- Felt
- 9 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Snohomish County, 36 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Utsalady Point fault, 22 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 3175 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Arlington, WA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Arlington, 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Arlington, 5 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.
Likely felt in: Arlington 5 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 67 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 230,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 160,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 14× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.2 about 67 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:
- 5.0 4 km ENE of Machias, Washington · 26 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.0 6 km W of Conway, Washington · 23 km NW 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 48.1982, -122.1933. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snohomish County, WA | 36 km (22 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Snohomish County |
| Island County, WA | 36 km (22 mi) | W | earthquakes near Island County |
| Skagit County, WA | 43 km (27 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Skagit County |
| Kitsap County, WA | 71 km (44 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Kitsap County |
| San Juan County, WA | 76 km (47 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near San Juan County |
| Whatcom County, WA | 76 km (47 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Whatcom County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 6 km SE of Coupeville, Washington
- 1.8 4 km SW of Clinton, Washington
- 1.5 6 km W of Camano, Washington
- 2.3 2 km ENE of Granite Falls, Washington
- 1.6 2 km NE of Shoreline, Washington
- 1.9 4 km ESE of Camano, Washington
- 2.9 7 km NW of La Conner, Washington
- 1.9 2 km NE of Granite Falls, Washington
- 2.3 5 km ENE of Port Townsend, Washington
- 1.6 3 km NNW of Hamilton, Washington
- 1.9 6 km SSE of Port Ludlow, Washington
- 2.0 2 km ENE of Granite Falls, Washington
- 1.9 1 km WSW of Freeland, Washington
- 2.0 2 km NE of Granite Falls, Washington
- 1.6 6 km NE of Port Townsend, 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.