QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Mount Vernon, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Mount Vernon in the 24 hours to 5:46 pm PST (01:46 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 2 km (1 mi) ENE, at 9:17 pm PDT on 11 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 10 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Mount Vernon

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 12 km (7 mi) northwest of Mount Vernon, WA, at 2:26 am PDT on 10 June 2018 (09:26 UTC), 20 km deep.

USGS: 1 km ENE of Bay View, Washington

97 km (60 mi) N of Seattle, WA · 30 km (18 mi) S of Bellingham, WA

2:26 am PDT, Jun 10, 2018 · · 20 km deep · released about 5.6 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Island County 40 kmSkagit County 47 kmSan Juan County 48 kmWhatcom County 60 kmSnohomish County 70 kmKitsap County 95 kmJefferson County 110 kmClallam County 114 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
2:26 am PDT on 10 June 2018 ()
Where
12 km (7 mi) northwest of Mount Vernon, WA · earthquakes near Mount Vernon
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Island County, 40 km SSW
Nearest mapped fault
Utsalady Point fault, 24 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 3077 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Mount Vernon, 12 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: Burlington, Anacortes, Sedro-Woolley, Clear Lake, Big Lake, Ault Field.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,700,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.6 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:

  1. 6.0 San Juan Islands, Washington · 35 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 6 km W of Conway, Washington · 17 km S of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 4 km ENE of Deming, Washington · 46 km NNE 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 48.4863, -122.4588. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Island County, WA 40 km (25 mi) SSW earthquakes near Island County
Skagit County, WA 47 km (29 mi) E earthquakes near Skagit County
San Juan County, WA 48 km (30 mi) W earthquakes near San Juan County
Whatcom County, WA 60 km (38 mi) NE earthquakes near Whatcom County
Snohomish County, WA 70 km (44 mi) SE earthquakes near Snohomish County
Kitsap County, WA 95 km (59 mi) S earthquakes near Kitsap County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 3 km SSW of Big Lake, Washington
  2. 2.0 4 km WNW of Lyman, Washington
  3. 1.9 2 km SSW of Acme, Washington
  4. 2.2 3 km SSW of Acme, Washington
  5. 2.9 3 km SW of Acme, Washington
  6. 1.8 4 km NE of Anacortes, Washington
  7. 2.3 4 km N of Port Townsend, Washington
  8. 2.0 3 km SW of Mount Vernon, Washington
  9. 1.9 10 km ESE of Deming, Washington
  10. 1.5 8 km SSE of Coupeville, Washington
  11. 2.4 6 km SW of Bay View, Washington
  12. 2.3 6 km SW of Bay View, Washington
  13. 1.6 3 km WNW of Alger, Washington
  14. 1.5 2 km S of Big Lake, Washington
  15. 2.9 5 km SW of Lake Cavanaugh, 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.