Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Friday Harbor, WA
USGS: 6 km W of Orcas, Washington
45 km (28 mi) WSW of Bellingham, WA · 119 km (74 mi) NNW of Seattle, WA
- When
- 6:19 am PDT on 11 July 2018 ()
- Where
- 7 km (4 mi) N of Friday Harbor, WA · earthquakes near Friday Harbor
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 15 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Juan County, 11 km SSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Utsalady Point fault, 25 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 3005 days ago
A magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) N of Friday Harbor, WA, at 6:19 am PDT on 11 July 2018 (13:19 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.7 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,600,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.7 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:
- 6.0 San Juan Islands, Washington · 21 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.5 21 km SSE of Point Roberts, Washington · 23 km N of this epicentre
- 5.1 10 km ESE of Salt Spring Island, Canada · 33 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 48.5925, -123.0302. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Juan County, WA | 11 km (7 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Juan County |
| Island County, WA | 55 km (34 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Island County |
| Clallam County, WA | 83 km (52 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Clallam County |
| Skagit County, WA | 90 km (56 mi) | E | earthquakes near Skagit County |
| Whatcom County, WA | 92 km (57 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Whatcom County |
| Jefferson County, WA | 95 km (59 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.
- 1.8 17 km WNW of Coupeville, Washington
- 1.7 10 km SE of Friday Harbor, Washington
- 2.2 15 km SSE of Friday Harbor, Washington
- 2.2 12 km WNW of Ault Field, Washington
- 2.3 12 km NW of Ault Field, Washington
- 2.2 12 km WNW of Ault Field, Washington
- 1.7 12 km NW of Ault Field, Washington
- 1.7 5 km ENE of Anacortes, Washington
- 2.1 13 km SW of North Saanich, Canada
- 1.8 10 km NE of Port Angeles East, Washington
- 1.8 4 km NE of Anacortes, Washington
- 2.0 5 km NW of Jamestown, Washington
- 2.0 7 km NNW of Friday Harbor, Washington
- 1.7 9 km NW of Friday Harbor, Washington
- 1.7 10 km SE of Metchosin, 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.