QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Lynden, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Lynden in the 24 hours to 12:32 pm PST (20:32 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 74 km (46 mi) S, at 11:35 pm PDT on 1 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2,030 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Lynden

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) northwest of Lynden, WA, at 10:33 am PDT on 9 July 2022 (17:33 UTC), 70 km deep.

USGS: 7 km NW of Lynden, Washington

27 km (17 mi) N of Bellingham, WA · 117 km (72 mi) NNW of Everett, WA

10:33 am PDT, Jul 9, 2022 · · 70 km deep · released about 6.2 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Whatcom County 53 kmSan Juan County 69 kmSkagit County 76 kmIsland County 93 kmSnohomish 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
10:33 am PDT on 9 July 2022 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) northwest of Lynden, WA · earthquakes near Lynden
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
70 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Whatcom County, 53 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Birch Bay fault, 18 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 612 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 Lynden, 7 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: Everson, Nooksack, Blaine, Ferndale, Birch Bay, Sumas.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.2 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 6.2 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 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.0 San Juan Islands, Washington · 38 km SSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 21 km SSE of Point Roberts, Washington · 41 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 4 km ENE of Deming, Washington · 31 km ESE 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 48.9913, -122.5207. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Whatcom County, WA 53 km (33 mi) ESE earthquakes near Whatcom County
San Juan County, WA 69 km (43 mi) SW earthquakes near San Juan County
Skagit County, WA 76 km (47 mi) SE earthquakes near Skagit County
Island County, WA 93 km (58 mi) S earthquakes near Island County
Snohomish County, WA 118 km (73 mi) SSE earthquakes near Snohomish County
Clallam County, WA 140 km (87 mi) SW earthquakes near Clallam County

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

Aftershocks so far

45 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. 1.9 2 km S of Marietta-Alderwood, Washington
  4. 2.2 2 km S of Marietta-Alderwood, Washington
  5. 1.6 6 km W of Edison, Washington
  6. 1.7 10 km NNE of Maple Falls, Washington
  7. 1.5 10 km ENE of Coquitlam, Canada
  8. 1.6 2 km SSW of Ferndale, Washington
  9. 1.8 2 km SSW of Ferndale, Washington
  10. 1.5 9 km WSW of Chilliwack, Canada
  11. 1.6 4 km NE of Bellingham, Washington
  12. 1.7 8 km E of Ferndale, Washington
  13. 1.9 9 km NE of Coquitlam, Canada
  14. 1.7 7 km NNW of Maple Ridge, Canada
  15. 1.5 5 km NNE of Lynden, 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.