Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1ml
Earthquake near Bellingham, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Bellingham in the 24 hours to 3:47 am PST (11:47 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 53 km (33 mi) S, at 11:35 pm PDT on 1 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2,030 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Bellingham
This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 35 km (21 mi) east-northeast of Bellingham, WA, at 10:54 am PST on 29 December 2020 (18:54 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6 km SSE of Maple Falls, Washington
34 km (21 mi) ENE of Bellingham, WA · 141 km (88 mi) N of Seattle, WA
- When
- 10:54 am PST on 29 December 2020 ()
- Where
- 35 km (21 mi) east-northeast of Bellingham, WA · earthquakes near Bellingham
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (ml)
- Depth
- -0.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 3 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Whatcom County, 16 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Boulder Creek-Canyon Creek fault, 5 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 2078 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Bellingham, WA
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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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Bellingham, 35 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: Peaceful Valley, Nooksack, Sumas, Everson, Sudden Valley, Geneva.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 43 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 350,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 43 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 one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.0 4 km ENE of Deming, Washington · 9 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 48.8725, -122.0490. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whatcom County, WA | 16 km (10 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Whatcom County |
| Skagit County, WA | 46 km (28 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Skagit County |
| San Juan County, WA | 87 km (54 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near San Juan County |
| Island County, WA | 92 km (57 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Island County |
| Snohomish County, WA | 93 km (58 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Snohomish County |
| Chelan County, WA | 154 km (96 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Chelan County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
50 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 Washington
- 1.8 6 km SSE of Concrete, Washington
- 2.2 8 km NE of Marietta-Alderwood, Washington
- 1.7 12 km SW of Chilliwack, Canada
- 2.3 6 km NW of Sedro-Woolley, Washington
- 1.7 6 km NW of Sedro-Woolley, Washington
- 1.8 8 km NE of Abbotsford, Canada
- 2.6 3 km NNW of Sedro-Woolley, Washington
- 2.0 5 km E of Deming, Washington
- 1.5 7 km NW of Lynden, Washington
- 1.5 16 km SSE of Glacier, Washington
- 1.5 11 km NE of Abbotsford, Canada
- 1.7 11 km ENE of Mission, Canada
- 1.5 12 km ENE of Mission, Canada
- 1.7 1 km ESE of Acme, 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.