QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Ault Field, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Ault Field in the 24 hours to 8:16 am PST (16:16 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 104 km (65 mi) S, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Ault Field

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) north of Ault Field, WA, at 6:14 pm PDT on 15 March 2019 (01:14 UTC), 24 km deep.

USGS: 7 km N of Ault Field, Washington

91 km (56 mi) NNW of Seattle, WA · 41 km (26 mi) SSW of Bellingham, WA

6:14 pm PDT, Mar 15, 2019 · · 24 km deep · released about 12 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ault Field Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Island County 28 kmSan Juan County 34 kmSkagit County 64 kmSnohomish County 78 kmWhatcom County 78 kmKitsap County 85 kmJefferson County 92 kmClallam County 96 kmKing County 120 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
6:14 pm PDT on 15 March 2019 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) north of Ault Field, WA · earthquakes near Ault Field
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
24 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Island County, 28 km S
Nearest mapped fault
Utsalady Point fault, 9 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 2797 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 Ault Field, 8 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: Anacortes, Oak Harbor, Coupeville, Mount Vernon, Burlington, Camano.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 12 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 80× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 12 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 · 34 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 21 km SSE of Point Roberts, Washington · 50 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 6 km W of Conway, Washington · 20 km ESE 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 48.4065, -122.6750. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Island County, WA 28 km (17 mi) S earthquakes near Island County
San Juan County, WA 34 km (21 mi) WNW earthquakes near San Juan County
Skagit County, WA 64 km (40 mi) E earthquakes near Skagit County
Snohomish County, WA 78 km (48 mi) ESE earthquakes near Snohomish County
Whatcom County, WA 78 km (49 mi) NE earthquakes near Whatcom County
Kitsap County, WA 85 km (53 mi) S earthquakes near Kitsap County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 6 km ENE of Marrowstone, Washington
  2. 2.0 9 km S of Friday Harbor, Washington
  3. 3.0 10 km NW of Friday Harbor, Washington
  4. 2.6 3 km NNE of Coupeville, Washington
  5. 1.6 6 km E of Oak Bay, Canada
  6. 2.1 13 km N of Orcas, Washington
  7. 2.6 0 km SSW of Oak Harbor, Washington
  8. 1.6 4 km ENE of Oak Harbor, Washington
  9. 2.0 9 km NW of Friday Harbor, Washington
  10. 1.7 11 km WNW of Ault Field, Washington
  11. 2.0 17 km NW of Orcas, Washington
  12. 1.6 5 km NW of Burlington, Washington
  13. 1.8 13 km WSW of Anacortes, Washington
  14. 1.5 7 km W of Orcas, Washington
  15. 2.6 9 km NW of Friday Harbor, 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.