QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9ml

Earthquake near Darrington, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Darrington in the 24 hours to 6:52 pm PST (02:52 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 74 km (46 mi) W, at 11:35 pm PDT on 1 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2,030 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Darrington

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) northeast of Darrington, WA, at 5:46 am PDT on 6 April 2022 (12:46 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 34 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 7 km NE of Darrington, Washington

98 km (61 mi) NE of Seattle, WA · 52 km (32 mi) ENE of Marysville, WA

5:46 am PDT, Apr 6, 2022 · · 0.2 km deep · released about 650 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Skagit County 28 kmSnohomish County 33 kmWhatcom County 63 kmChelan County 85 kmIsland County 85 kmKing County 94 kmKitsap County 111 kmSan Juan County 117 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
5:46 am PDT on 6 April 2022 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) northeast of Darrington, WA · earthquakes near Darrington
Magnitude
M 2.9 (ml)
Depth
0.2 km below the surface
Felt
34 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Skagit County, 28 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1615 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 31 km (19 mi) from the epicentre. In Darrington, 8 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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.

Likely felt in: Darrington 8 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 650 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 23,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.5× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 650 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. 5.6 Near Marblemount, Washington · 23 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 4 km ENE of Machias, Washington · 49 km SW 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 48.3130, -121.5428. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Skagit County, WA 28 km (18 mi) NW earthquakes near Skagit County
Snohomish County, WA 33 km (21 mi) SSW earthquakes near Snohomish County
Whatcom County, WA 63 km (39 mi) NNW earthquakes near Whatcom County
Chelan County, WA 85 km (53 mi) SE earthquakes near Chelan County
Island County, WA 85 km (53 mi) W earthquakes near Island County
King County, WA 94 km (58 mi) SSW earthquakes near King 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. 1.7 1 km ESE of Oso, Washington
  2. 1.5 3 km E of Granite Falls, Washington
  3. 1.5 2 km ENE of Granite Falls, Washington
  4. 1.6 13 km ENE of Verlot, Washington
  5. 1.5 11 km NE of May Creek, Washington
  6. 1.8 2 km ENE of Granite Falls, Washington
  7. 1.7 9 km SW of Concrete, Washington
  8. 1.5 1 km E of Granite Falls, Washington
  9. 1.7 5 km NNE of Oso, Washington
  10. 1.6 10 km ESE of Hamilton, Washington
  11. 1.6 3 km NNW of Oso, Washington
  12. 1.6 Washington
  13. 1.6 3 km WNW of Lake Cavanaugh, Washington
  14. 1.6 2 km E of Granite Falls, Washington
  15. 1.7 15 km NE of Lake Cavanaugh, 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.