QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Anacortes, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Anacortes in the 24 hours to 12:24 am PST (08:24 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 1.7 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) north-northeast of Anacortes, WA, at 11:59 pm PST on 26 November 2020 (07:59 UTC), 15 km deep.

USGS: 5 km NNE of Anacortes, Washington

23 km (14 mi) SSW of Bellingham, WA · 106 km (66 mi) N of Seattle, WA

11:59 pm PST, Nov 26, 2020 · · 15 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Anacortes Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Juan County 38 kmIsland County 45 kmSkagit County 58 kmWhatcom County 63 kmSnohomish County 83 kmKitsap County 103 kmClallam County 108 kmJefferson County 109 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
11:59 pm PST on 26 November 2020 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) north-northeast of Anacortes, WA · earthquakes near Anacortes
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Juan County, 38 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Anacortes, 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: Burlington, Bellingham, Geneva, Mount Vernon, Marietta, Sudden Valley.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 930,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 83× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 · 22 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 21 km SSE of Point Roberts, Washington · 40 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 6 km W of Conway, Washington · 28 km SSE of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 4 km ENE of Deming, Washington · 44 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 48.5632, -122.5903. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Juan County, WA 38 km (24 mi) W earthquakes near San Juan County
Island County, WA 45 km (28 mi) S earthquakes near Island County
Skagit County, WA 58 km (36 mi) E earthquakes near Skagit County
Whatcom County, WA 63 km (39 mi) ENE earthquakes near Whatcom County
Snohomish County, WA 83 km (52 mi) SE earthquakes near Snohomish County
Kitsap County, WA 103 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

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

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