Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9ml
Earthquake near Anacortes, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Anacortes in the 24 hours to 6:56 pm PST (02:56 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 25 km (15 mi) S, at 11:35 pm PDT on 1 July 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 2,030 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Anacortes
This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) south-southeast of Anacortes, WA, at 10:59 am PDT on 30 October 2018 (17:59 UTC), 5.6 km deep. 50 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 7 km NW of La Conner, Washington
92 km (57 mi) N of Seattle, WA · 36 km (22 mi) SSW of Bellingham, WA
- When
- 10:59 am PDT on 30 October 2018 ()
- Where
- 9 km (6 mi) south-southeast of Anacortes, WA · earthquakes near Anacortes
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- 50 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Island County, 32 km SSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Utsalady Point fault, 16 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 2855 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Anacortes, WA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Anacortes, 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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 31 km (19 mi) from the epicentre. In Anacortes, 9 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Anacortes 9 km, intensity III · Oak Harbor 17 km, intensity II · Mount Vernon 17 km, intensity II · Sedro-Woolley 26 km, intensity II · Coupeville 26 km, intensity II · Camano 29 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 650 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 23,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.5× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 650 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:
- 6.0 San Juan Islands, Washington · 34 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.0 6 km W of Conway, Washington · 15 km SE 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 48.4370, -122.5672. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Island County, WA | 32 km (20 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Island County |
| San Juan County, WA | 40 km (25 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near San Juan County |
| Skagit County, WA | 56 km (35 mi) | E | earthquakes near Skagit County |
| Whatcom County, WA | 70 km (44 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Whatcom County |
| Snohomish County, WA | 73 km (45 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Snohomish County |
| Kitsap County, WA | 89 km (55 mi) | S | 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.
- 1.5 7 km W of Orcas, Washington
- 2.6 9 km NW of Friday Harbor, Washington
- 1.8 4 km NW of Orcas, Washington
- 2.2 8 km SW of Warm Beach, Washington
- 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
- 1.9 4 km E of Sudden Valley, 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
- 1.8 3 km SSW of Big Lake, Washington
- 1.8 9 km NNW of Freeland, 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.