QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Lofall, WA

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Lofall in the last 24 hours. M 1.8, 8 km (5 mi) NNW of Lofall, at 12:24 pm PST on 12 November 2026 (20:24 UTC); the estimated shaking in Lofall was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Lofall

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) north-northeast of Lofall, WA, at 3:26 pm PST on 27 November 2020 (23:26 UTC), 23 km deep.

USGS: 6 km NNE of Lofall, Washington

34 km (21 mi) NW of Seattle, WA · 24 km (15 mi) WNW of Shoreline, WA

3:26 pm PST, Nov 27, 2020 · · 23 km deep · released about 5.9 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kitsap County 25 kmIsland County 33 kmSnohomish County 67 kmJefferson County 68 kmMason County 70 kmKing County 73 kmSan Juan County 80 kmSkagit County 92 kmPierce County 97 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
3:26 pm PST on 27 November 2020 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) north-northeast of Lofall, WA · earthquakes near Lofall
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
23 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kitsap County, 25 km S
Nearest mapped fault
Southern Whidbey Island 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 2173 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 Lofall, 6 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: Port Ludlow, Hansville, Kingston, Poulsbo, Indianola, Suquamish.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.9 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,800,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 160× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.9 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 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.3 Eastern Olympic Peninsula, Washington · 29 km WSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 4 km ENE of Machias, Washington · 49 km ENE 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 47.8662, -122.6265. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kitsap County, WA 25 km (16 mi) S earthquakes near Kitsap County
Island County, WA 33 km (20 mi) N earthquakes near Island County
Snohomish County, WA 67 km (42 mi) ENE earthquakes near Snohomish County
Jefferson County, WA 68 km (42 mi) W earthquakes near Jefferson County
Mason County, WA 70 km (44 mi) SW earthquakes near Mason County
King County, WA 73 km (45 mi) SE earthquakes near King 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. 2.8 0 km S of Boulevard Park, Washington
  2. 2.1 0 km SSW of Boulevard Park, Washington
  3. 1.6 0 km WSW of Boulevard Park, Washington
  4. 1.6 0 km NW of Boulevard Park, Washington
  5. 1.8 5 km S of Hansville, Washington
  6. 1.6 8 km NE of Jamestown, Washington
  7. 2.0 7 km NNE of Jamestown, Washington
  8. 1.8 3 km WNW of Navy Yard City, Washington
  9. 2.6 18 km WSW of Quilcene, Washington
  10. 1.6 4 km WNW of Freeland, Washington
  11. 1.5 6 km NNW of Lofall, Washington
  12. 1.6 0 km WSW of Parkwood, Washington
  13. 1.7 5 km NE of Kingston, Washington
  14. 2.5 1 km NE of Enetai, Washington
  15. 2.3 1 km W of Oak 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.