Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3ml
Earthquake near Ault Field, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Ault Field in the 24 hours to 8:02 pm PST (04:02 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 2.3 earthquake was recorded 12 km (8 mi) northwest of Ault Field, WA, at 1:24 am PDT on 2 September 2019 (08:24 UTC), 6.8 km deep. 7 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 12 km NW of Ault Field, Washington
94 km (58 mi) NNW of Seattle, WA · 45 km (28 mi) SSW of Bellingham, WA
- When
- 1:24 am PDT on 2 September 2019 ()
- Where
- 12 km (8 mi) northwest of Ault Field, WA · earthquakes near Ault Field
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (ml)
- Depth
- 6.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- 7 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- San Juan County, 25 km WNW
- 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 2554 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Ault Field, WA
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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 minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 19 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Ault Field, 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.
Likely felt in: Oak Harbor 17 km, intensity II · Anacortes 18 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 85 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 85 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 · 32 km N of this epicentre
- 5.5 21 km SSE of Point Roberts, Washington · 46 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.0 6 km W of Conway, Washington · 29 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 48.4088, -122.8030. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Juan County, WA | 25 km (15 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near San Juan County |
| Island County, WA | 30 km (18 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Island County |
| Skagit County, WA | 73 km (46 mi) | E | earthquakes near Skagit County |
| Whatcom County, WA | 86 km (53 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Whatcom County |
| Jefferson County, WA | 86 km (53 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Jefferson County |
| Kitsap County, WA | 86 km (54 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.
- 2.8 6 km E of North Saanich, Canada
- 1.7 15 km NW of Orcas, Washington
- 1.6 6 km SW of Port Hadlock-Irondale, Washington
- 1.9 7 km ENE of Port Townsend, Washington
- 2.0 6 km SE of Bay View, Washington
- 2.2 5 km NE of Oak Harbor, Washington
- 1.8 6 km WNW of Coupeville, Washington
- 1.7 8 km NNW of Friday Harbor, Washington
- 1.7 5 km NNE of Anacortes, Washington
- 2.3 5 km N of Anacortes, Washington
- 3.0 6 km NE of Oak Bay, Canada
- 2.5 5 km N of Anacortes, WA
- 1.9 4 km W of Mount Vernon, Washington
- 1.9 6 km WSW of Mount Vernon, Washington
- 1.9 7 km NE of Marrowstone, 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.