QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Sequim, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Sequim in the 24 hours to 8:47 pm PST (04:47 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 81 km (50 mi) SSE, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Sequim

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) north-northeast of Sequim, WA, at 8:23 pm PDT on 3 July 2021 (03:23 UTC), 27 km deep.

USGS: 8 km NE of Jamestown, Washington

81 km (50 mi) NW of Seattle, WA

8:23 pm PDT, Jul 3, 2021 · · 27 km deep · released about 7.6 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Island County 26 kmSan Juan County 36 kmJefferson County 57 kmClallam County 65 kmKitsap County 67 kmMason County 94 kmSnohomish County 94 kmSkagit County 95 kmWhatcom County 114 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
8:23 pm PDT on 3 July 2021 ()
Where
13 km (8 mi) north-northeast of Sequim, WA · earthquakes near Sequim
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
27 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Island County, 26 km E
Nearest mapped fault
Southern Whidbey Island fault, 7 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 1957 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 Sequim, 13 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: Port Townsend, Port Hadlock-Irondale, Coupeville, Port Angeles East.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.6 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 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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. 5.3 Eastern Olympic Peninsula, Washington · 43 km S of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 6 km W of Conway, Washington · 47 km ENE 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 48.1868, -123.0225. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Island County, WA 26 km (16 mi) E earthquakes near Island County
San Juan County, WA 36 km (22 mi) N earthquakes near San Juan County
Jefferson County, WA 57 km (35 mi) SW earthquakes near Jefferson County
Clallam County, WA 65 km (40 mi) W earthquakes near Clallam County
Kitsap County, WA 67 km (42 mi) SSE earthquakes near Kitsap County
Mason County, WA 94 km (58 mi) S earthquakes near Mason County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 7 km SSW of Port Ludlow, Washington
  2. 1.9 7 km WNW of Lofall, Washington
  3. 1.5 8 km WNW of Lofall, Washington
  4. 3.7 7 km WNW of Lofall, Washington
  5. 1.5 16 km NE of Jamestown, Washington
  6. 1.7 2 km N of Metchosin, Canada
  7. 1.7 6 km E of Quilcene, Washington
  8. 2.6 24 km SSW of River Road, Washington
  9. 1.5 2 km NW of Orcas, Washington
  10. 1.6 7 km WSW of Coupeville, Washington
  11. 1.6 5 km SW of Port Ludlow, Washington
  12. 2.0 6 km W of Orcas, Washington
  13. 1.5 8 km ESE of Blyn, Washington
  14. 1.6 5 km NNW of Victoria, Canada
  15. 1.8 3 km W of Hansville, 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.