QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3ml

Earthquake near Anacortes, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Anacortes in the 24 hours to 5:43 pm PST (01:43 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 25 km (15 mi) S, at 11:35 pm PDT on 1 July 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 2,030 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Anacortes

This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) north of Anacortes, WA, at 6:53 pm PST on 26 November 2020 (02:53 UTC), 15 km deep.

USGS: 5 km N of Anacortes, Washington

24 km (15 mi) SSW of Bellingham, WA · 106 km (66 mi) N of Seattle, WA

6:53 pm PST, Nov 26, 2020 · · 15 km deep · released about 74 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Anacortes Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Juan County 37 kmIsland County 45 kmSkagit County 59 kmWhatcom County 65 kmSnohomish County 84 kmKitsap County 102 kmClallam County 107 kmJefferson County 108 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
6:53 pm PST on 26 November 2020 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) north of Anacortes, WA · earthquakes near Anacortes
Magnitude
M 2.3 (ml)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Juan County, 37 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Sandy Point fault, 23 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Anacortes, 5 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.

Likely felt in: Anacortes 5 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 74 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 140,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 13× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 74 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 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.0 San Juan Islands, Washington · 21 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 21 km SSE of Point Roberts, Washington · 39 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 6 km W of Conway, Washington · 29 km SSE of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 4 km ENE of Deming, Washington · 46 km NE 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 48.5607, -122.6122. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Juan County, WA 37 km (23 mi) W earthquakes near San Juan County
Island County, WA 45 km (28 mi) S earthquakes near Island County
Skagit County, WA 59 km (37 mi) E earthquakes near Skagit County
Whatcom County, WA 65 km (40 mi) ENE earthquakes near Whatcom County
Snohomish County, WA 84 km (52 mi) SE earthquakes near Snohomish County
Kitsap County, WA 102 km (64 mi) S earthquakes near Kitsap County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

55 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 3.6 2 km E of Mount Vernon, Washington
  2. 1.9 1 km WNW of Mount Vernon, Washington
  3. 1.7 1 km ESE of Acme, Washington
  4. 2.0 4 km W of Lake Cavanaugh, Washington
  5. 1.9 6 km SSE of Birch Bay, Washington
  6. 1.8 8 km WNW of Orcas, Washington
  7. 1.7 1 km NNW of Silvana, Washington
  8. 2.4 12 km SSE of Friday Harbor, Washington
  9. 1.7 9 km WNW of Orcas, Washington
  10. 1.5 8 km SSW of Everson, Washington
  11. 1.5 8 km WNW of Orcas, Washington
  12. 1.5 9 km WNW of Orcas, Washington
  13. 1.8 8 km WNW of Orcas, Washington
  14. 1.9 8 km ENE of Port Townsend, Washington
  15. 2.1 7 km W of Lake Cavanaugh, 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.