Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Bellingham, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Bellingham in the 24 hours to 12:08 am PST (08:08 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 53 km (33 mi) S, at 11:35 pm PDT on 1 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2,030 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Bellingham
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 43 km (27 mi) west-southwest of Bellingham, WA, at 1:26 pm PDT on 27 September 2020 (20:26 UTC), 16 km deep.
USGS: 8 km WNW of Orcas, Washington
44 km (28 mi) WSW of Bellingham, WA · 123 km (77 mi) NNW of Seattle, WA
- When
- 1:26 pm PDT on 27 September 2020 ()
- Where
- 43 km (27 mi) west-southwest of Bellingham, WA · earthquakes near Bellingham
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 16 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Juan County, 14 km SSW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2232 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Bellingham, 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Bellingham, 43 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: Friday Harbor.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 8.1 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,900,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.1 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 · 20 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.5 21 km SSE of Point Roberts, Washington · 19 km N of this epicentre
- 5.1 10 km ESE of Salt Spring Island, Canada · 30 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 48.6277, -123.0437. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Juan County, WA | 14 km (9 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Juan County |
| Island County, WA | 59 km (37 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Island County |
| Clallam County, WA | 85 km (53 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Clallam County |
| Skagit County, WA | 92 km (57 mi) | E | earthquakes near Skagit County |
| Whatcom County, WA | 92 km (57 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Whatcom County |
| Jefferson County, WA | 98 km (61 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Jefferson County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 5 km NNW of Victoria, Canada
- 1.5 10 km NNW of Anacortes, Washington
- 1.8 9 km WSW of Friday Harbor, Washington
- 2.1 6 km NNW of La Conner, Washington
- 2.5 7 km SSE of Oak Bay, Canada
- 2.7 7 km S of Point Roberts, Washington
- 1.9 6 km SSE of Birch Bay, Washington
- 1.8 8 km WNW of Orcas, Washington
- 2.4 12 km SSE of Friday Harbor, Washington
- 1.7 9 km WNW of Orcas, Washington
- 1.5 9 km E of Ganges, Canada
- 1.5 8 km WNW of Orcas, Washington
- 1.5 9 km WNW of Orcas, Washington
- 1.8 8 km WNW of Orcas, Washington
- 2.3 12 km ENE of Ganges, 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.