Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.0ml
6 km NE of Oak Bay, Canada
Yes. A magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 6 km NE of Oak Bay, Canada, at 8:44 am PST on 20 November 2020 (16:44 UTC), 22 km deep. 112 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
- When
- Magnitude
- M 3.0 (ml)
- Depth
- 22 km below the surface
- Felt
- 112 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Measured shaking
- intensity II (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- San Juan County, 10 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Utsalady Point fault, 11 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 1377 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Friday Harbor, WA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Friday Harbor, 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 30 km (19 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.
Likely felt in: Friday Harbor 17 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 950 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 350,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 16,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 11,000× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.0 about 950 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 48.4835, -123.2365. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Juan County, WA | 10 km (6 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near San Juan County |
| Island County, WA | 55 km (34 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Island County |
| Clallam County, WA | 64 km (40 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Clallam County |
| Jefferson County, WA | 78 km (49 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Jefferson County |
| Kitsap County, WA | 103 km (64 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Kitsap County |
| Skagit County, WA | 105 km (65 mi) | E | earthquakes near Skagit 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.
- 2.0 13 km W of Ault Field, Washington
- 2.0 10 km E of Oak Bay, Canada
- 2.6 Washington-British Columbia border region
- 2.3 6 km WNW of Orcas, Washington
- 1.6 6 km W of Orcas, Washington
- 2.7 6 km WNW of Orcas, Washington
- 2.3 16 km SSE of Friday Harbor, Washington
- 1.6 5 km N of Oak Bay, Canada
- 2.3 5 km NNE of Oak Bay, Canada
- 1.6 8 km NE of Oak Bay, Canada
- 1.6 11 km E of North Saanich, Canada
- 1.6 9 km WSW of Cowichan Bay, Canada
- 1.7 9 km NW of Langford, Canada
- 1.6 9 km NW of Orcas, Washington
- 1.6 8 km NNW of Jamestown, 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.