QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

8 km WNW of Orcas, Washington

· 14 km deep · released about 13 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Juan County 13 kmIsland County 59 kmClallam County 84 kmSkagit County 93 kmWhatcom County 93 kmJefferson County 97 kmKitsap County 114 kmSnohomish County 115 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
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Juan County, 13 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1659 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 13 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 840,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 75× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 13 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.

Where

Epicentre 48.6235, -123.0590. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection
San Juan County, WA 13 km (8 mi) NNE of here earthquakes near San Juan County
Island County, WA 59 km (37 mi) NNW of here earthquakes near Island County
Clallam County, WA 84 km (52 mi) NE of here earthquakes near Clallam County
Skagit County, WA 93 km (58 mi) W of here earthquakes near Skagit County
Whatcom County, WA 93 km (58 mi) WSW of here earthquakes near Whatcom County
Jefferson County, WA 97 km (60 mi) NNE of here earthquakes near Jefferson County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 4 km SSW of Marietta, Washington
  2. 1.7 12 km WNW of Orcas, Washington
  3. 1.6 9 km NW of Friday Harbor, Washington
  4. 1.6 5 km SSW of Anacortes, Washington
  5. 1.9 2 km S of Marietta-Alderwood, Washington
  6. 2.2 2 km S of Marietta-Alderwood, Washington
  7. 1.6 6 km W of Edison, Washington
  8. 1.6 6 km SSW of Saanichton, Canada
  9. 1.6 10 km WSW of Friday Harbor, Washington
  10. 1.6 2 km SSW of Ferndale, Washington
  11. 1.8 2 km SSW of Ferndale, Washington
  12. 1.9 1 km NE of Six Mile, Canada
  13. 2.3 11 km NW of Orcas, Washington
  14. 1.6 11 km ENE of Salt Spring Island, Canada
  15. 1.5 10 km NW of Friday Harbor, 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.