Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
2 km ESE of Walnut Grove, Canada
Yes. A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 2 km ESE of Walnut Grove, Canada, 46 km (29 mi) NNW of Bellingham, WA, at 1:36 am PST on 22 January 2021 (09:36 UTC), 4.8 km deep.
46 km (29 mi) NNW of Bellingham, WA · 136 km (85 mi) NNW of Everett, WA
- When
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 4.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Whatcom County, 66 km ESE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2122 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Blaine, WA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Blaine, 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 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 9 km (6 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: Blaine, Lynden, Birch Bay.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 6.4 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,400,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.4 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 49.1587, -122.6065. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whatcom County, WA | 66 km (41 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Whatcom County |
| San Juan County, WA | 81 km (50 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Juan County |
| Skagit County, WA | 94 km (58 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Skagit County |
| Island County, WA | 111 km (69 mi) | S | earthquakes near Island County |
| Clallam County, WA | 150 km (93 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.
- 1.8 10 km W of Marietta, Washington
- 2.3 28 km NNE of Maple Ridge, Canada
- 2.0 2 km WNW of Deming, Washington
- 1.5 4 km SSW of Marietta, Washington
- 1.9 2 km S of Marietta-Alderwood, Washington
- 2.2 2 km S of Marietta-Alderwood, Washington
- 1.5 10 km ENE of Coquitlam, Canada
- 1.6 2 km SSW of Ferndale, Washington
- 1.8 2 km SSW of Ferndale, Washington
- 1.5 9 km WSW of Chilliwack, Canada
- 1.6 4 km NE of Bellingham, Washington
- 1.7 8 km E of Ferndale, Washington
- 1.9 9 km NE of Coquitlam, Canada
- 1.7 7 km NNW of Maple Ridge, Canada
- 1.5 5 km NNE of Lynden, 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.