QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Anacortes, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Anacortes in the 24 hours to 2:03 am PST (10:03 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 25 km (15 mi) S, at 11:35 pm PDT on 1 July 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 2,030 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Anacortes

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) southeast of Anacortes, WA, at 12:20 am PDT on 3 May 2022 (07:20 UTC), 22 km deep.

USGS: 6 km NNW of La Conner, Washington

92 km (57 mi) N of Seattle, WA · 35 km (22 mi) S of Bellingham, WA

12:20 am PDT, May 3, 2022 · · 22 km deep · released about 37 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Island County 33 kmSan Juan County 42 kmSkagit County 54 kmWhatcom County 68 kmSnohomish County 71 kmKitsap County 89 kmJefferson County 102 kmClallam County 107 kmKing County 118 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
12:20 am PDT on 3 May 2022 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) southeast of Anacortes, WA · earthquakes near Anacortes
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
22 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Island County, 33 km SSW
Nearest mapped fault
Utsalady Point fault, 17 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 1655 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 Anacortes, 10 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: Ault Field, Mount Vernon, Burlington, Oak Harbor, Big Lake, Clear Lake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 37 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 410,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 290,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 26× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 37 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. 6.0 San Juan Islands, Washington · 35 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 6 km W of Conway, Washington · 14 km SSE 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 48.4380, -122.5370. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Island County, WA 33 km (20 mi) SSW earthquakes near Island County
San Juan County, WA 42 km (26 mi) W earthquakes near San Juan County
Skagit County, WA 54 km (33 mi) E earthquakes near Skagit County
Whatcom County, WA 68 km (42 mi) NE earthquakes near Whatcom County
Snohomish County, WA 71 km (44 mi) SE earthquakes near Snohomish County
Kitsap County, WA 89 km (55 mi) S earthquakes near Kitsap County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 2 km WNW of Deming, Washington
  2. 1.5 4 km SSW of Marietta, Washington
  3. 1.6 5 km SSW of Anacortes, Washington
  4. 1.9 2 km S of Marietta-Alderwood, Washington
  5. 2.2 2 km S of Marietta-Alderwood, Washington
  6. 1.7 5 km ESE of Coupeville, Washington
  7. 1.6 6 km W of Edison, Washington
  8. 2.8 3 km E of Port Townsend, Washington
  9. 1.6 2 km SSW of Ferndale, Washington
  10. 1.8 2 km SSW of Ferndale, Washington
  11. 1.5 5 km W of Coupeville, Washington
  12. 1.8 2 km SW of Sedro-Woolley, Washington
  13. 2.3 11 km NW of Orcas, Washington
  14. 3.3 1 km NNE of Coupeville, Washington
  15. 1.5 3 km SSE of Stanwood, 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.