Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8ml
1 km WNW of Mission, Canada
Yes. A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 1 km WNW of Mission, Canada, 44 km (27 mi) NNE of Bellingham, WA, at 10:14 pm PDT on 4 September 2020 (05:14 UTC), 4.2 km deep.
44 km (27 mi) NNE of Bellingham, WA · 131 km (81 mi) N of Everett, WA
- When
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 4.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Whatcom County, 48 km SE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2259 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Sumas, 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 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Sumas, Nooksack, Lynden, Everson, Peaceful Valley.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 14 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 790,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 70× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 14 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.
Where
Epicentre 49.1370, -122.3180. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whatcom County, WA | 48 km (30 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Whatcom County |
| Skagit County, WA | 80 km (50 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Skagit County |
| San Juan County, WA | 91 km (56 mi) | SW | earthquakes near San Juan County |
| Island County, WA | 112 km (69 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Island County |
| Clallam County, WA | 162 km (101 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Clallam County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
58 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 10 km W of Chilliwack, Canada
- 2.1 5 km SW of Aldergrove, Canada
- 1.7 5 km WSW of Aldergrove, Canada
- 1.6 6 km SW of Chilliwack, Canada
- 1.5 12 km ENE of Mission, Canada
- 1.8 2 km SW of Deming, Washington
- 1.6 11 km ENE of Abbotsford, Canada
- 1.5 6 km ENE of Abbotsford, Canada
- 1.5 5 km ENE of Abbotsford, Canada
- 1.6 Washington
- 2.1 7 km SSW of Birch Bay, Washington
- 1.5 4 km NW of Glacier, Washington
- 1.5 0 km WNW of Sumas, Washington
- 1.6 12 km NE of Abbotsford, Canada
- 1.6 11 km ENE of Abbotsford, 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.