Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Port Angeles, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Port Angeles in the 24 hours to 10:35 pm PST (06:35 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 96 km (60 mi) SE, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Port Angeles
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 25 km (16 mi) northeast of Port Angeles, WA, at 11:51 pm PDT on 19 October 2021 (06:51 UTC), 45 km deep.
USGS: 16 km NNW of Jamestown, Washington
94 km (58 mi) NW of Seattle, WA
- When
- 11:51 pm PDT on 19 October 2021 ()
- Where
- 25 km (16 mi) northeast of Port Angeles, WA · earthquakes near Port Angeles
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 45 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Juan County, 28 km N
- Nearest mapped fault
- Southern Whidbey Island fault, 6 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 1850 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Port Angeles, WA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Port Angeles, WA. No account or email needed.
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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Port Angeles, 25 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: Sequim, Port Angeles East.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 6.8 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,200,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.8 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 since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.
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 48.2625, -123.1728. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Juan County, WA | 28 km (17 mi) | N | earthquakes near San Juan County |
| Island County, WA | 39 km (24 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Island County |
| Clallam County, WA | 56 km (35 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Clallam County |
| Jefferson County, WA | 57 km (36 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Jefferson County |
| Kitsap County, WA | 79 km (49 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Kitsap County |
| Mason County, WA | 101 km (63 mi) | S | earthquakes near Mason County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
39 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 13 km W of Ault Field, Washington
- 2.0 10 km E of Oak Bay, Canada
- 2.6 Washington-British Columbia border region
- 2.3 6 km WNW of Orcas, Washington
- 1.6 6 km W of Orcas, Washington
- 2.7 6 km WNW of Orcas, Washington
- 2.3 16 km SSE of Friday Harbor, Washington
- 1.6 5 km N of Oak Bay, Canada
- 2.3 5 km NNE of Oak Bay, Canada
- 1.6 8 km NE of Oak Bay, Canada
- 1.6 11 km E of North Saanich, Canada
- 1.7 9 km NW of Langford, Canada
- 1.6 9 km NW of Orcas, Washington
- 1.6 8 km NNW of Jamestown, Washington
- 1.5 16 km NE of Jamestown, 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.