Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.2ml
Earthquake near Point Roberts, WA
USGS: 20 km SSW of Point Roberts, Washington
55 km (34 mi) W of Bellingham, WA · 148 km (92 mi) NNW of Seattle, WA
- When
- 10:09 am PDT on 8 June 2018 ()
- Where
- 20 km (13 mi) SSW of Point Roberts, WA · earthquakes near Point Roberts
- Magnitude
- M 3.2 (ml)
- Depth
- 58 km below the surface
- Felt
- 69 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Measured shaking
- intensity II (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- San Juan County, 36 km SSE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2956 days ago
A magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 20 km (13 mi) SSW of Point Roberts, WA, at 10:09 am PDT on 8 June 2018 (17:09 UTC). 69 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,800 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 180,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 8,200× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 5,800× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.2 about 1,800 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.9× 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 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.0 San Juan Islands, Washington · 33 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.5 21 km SSE of Point Roberts, Washington · 15 km E of this epicentre
- 5.1 10 km ESE of Salt Spring Island, Canada · 11 km WSW 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 48.8252, -123.2070. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Juan County, WA | 36 km (22 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near San Juan County |
| Island County, WA | 84 km (52 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Island County |
| Clallam County, WA | 94 km (58 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Clallam County |
| Whatcom County, WA | 100 km (62 mi) | E | earthquakes near Whatcom County |
| Skagit County, WA | 109 km (68 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Skagit County |
| Jefferson County, WA | 116 km (72 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Jefferson County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
52 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 10 km WNW of Orcas, Washington
- 2.0 9 km S of Friday Harbor, Washington
- 1.5 12 km ENE of North Saanich, Canada
- 3.0 10 km NW of Friday Harbor, Washington
- 1.6 6 km E of Oak Bay, Canada
- 1.6 10 km ESE of Point Roberts, Washington
- 2.3 11 km NNE of Six Mile, Canada
- 2.1 13 km N of Orcas, Washington
- 2.0 11 km NNW of Six Mile, Canada
- 1.7 3 km NNE of Six Mile, Canada
- 2.0 9 km NW of Friday Harbor, Washington
- 1.5 3 km WNW of North Saanich, Canada
- 2.0 17 km NW of Orcas, Washington
- 1.5 8 km SW of Point Roberts, Washington
- 1.6 2 km S of Oak Bay, 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.