QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Big Lake, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Big Lake in the 24 hours to 11:27 am PST (19:27 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 5 km (3 mi) WNW, at 9:17 pm PDT on 11 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 10 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Big Lake

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded in Big Lake, WA, at 8:19 pm PST on 2 March 2021 (04:19 UTC), 18 km deep.

USGS: 0 km S of Big Lake, Washington

87 km (54 mi) N of Seattle, WA · 36 km (22 mi) N of Marysville, WA

8:19 pm PST, Mar 2, 2021 · · 18 km deep · released about 6.6 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Big Lake Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Skagit County 33 kmIsland County 41 kmSnohomish County 52 kmWhatcom County 58 kmSan Juan County 65 kmKitsap County 89 kmKing County 105 kmJefferson County 116 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
8:19 pm PST on 2 March 2021 ()
Where
in Big Lake, WA · earthquakes near Big Lake
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
18 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Skagit County, 33 km ENE
Nearest mapped fault
Utsalady 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 2082 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. 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: Mount Vernon, Clear Lake, Burlington, Sedro-Woolley, Bryant, Stanwood.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.6 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. 5.0 4 km ENE of Machias, Washington · 47 km SSE of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 6 km W of Conway, Washington · 16 km WSW 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 48.3943, -122.2437. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Skagit County, WA 33 km (21 mi) ENE earthquakes near Skagit County
Island County, WA 41 km (26 mi) SW earthquakes near Island County
Snohomish County, WA 52 km (32 mi) SE earthquakes near Snohomish County
Whatcom County, WA 58 km (36 mi) NNE earthquakes near Whatcom County
San Juan County, WA 65 km (40 mi) WNW earthquakes near San Juan County
Kitsap County, WA 89 km (55 mi) SSW earthquakes near Kitsap 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. 2.1 7 km W of Lake Cavanaugh, Washington
  2. 1.5 1 km ENE of Granite Falls, Washington
  3. 1.7 1 km SE of Mount Vernon, Washington
  4. 1.7 2 km ENE of Granite Falls, Washington
  5. 1.5 2 km W of Big Lake, Washington
  6. 1.6 3 km NNW of La Conner, Washington
  7. 2.4 8 km N of Anacortes, Washington
  8. 3.0 2 km ESE of Big Lake, Washington
  9. 2.8 8 km NW of Verlot, Washington
  10. 1.7 1 km ENE of Granite Falls, Washington
  11. 1.8 1 km NE of Oak Harbor, Washington
  12. 1.8 8 km SW of Anacortes, Washington
  13. 2.1 1 km ESE of Burlington, Washington
  14. 1.5 2 km ENE of Granite Falls, Washington
  15. 1.7 2 km E of Lake Stevens, 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.