Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7ml
Earthquake near Forks, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Forks in the 24 hours to 1:40 pm PST (21:40 UTC). The last one was M 1.7, 12 km (8 mi) S, at 8:06 pm PDT on 6 June 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Forks
This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 25 km (16 mi) east-southeast of Forks, WA, at 7:45 pm PST on 3 January 2023 (03:45 UTC), 27 km deep.
USGS: 25 km ESE of Forks, Washington
- When
- 7:45 pm PST on 3 January 2023 ()
- Where
- 25 km (16 mi) east-southeast of Forks, WA · earthquakes near Forks
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 27 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Clallam County, 27 km NNE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Calawah fault, 14 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 851 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Forks, WA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Forks, 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 Forks, 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 10 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,500,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 95× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 10 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.1 on 2018-11-19 — about 4,000 times the energy of this one.
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 47.8930, -124.0565. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clallam County, WA | 27 km (17 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Clallam County |
| Jefferson County, WA | 41 km (25 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Jefferson County |
| Grays Harbor County, WA | 88 km (55 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Grays Harbor County |
| Mason County, WA | 90 km (56 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Mason County |
| San Juan County, WA | 98 km (61 mi) | NE | earthquakes near San Juan County |
| Island County, WA | 107 km (67 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Island County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 5 km WSW of Forks, Washington
- 1.4 8 km SW of Port Angeles, Washington
- 3.1 18 km ESE of Forks, Washington
- 0.9 25 km NE of Amanda Park, Washington
- 1.0 34 km SSW of Port Angeles, Washington
- 1.8 34 km NE of Amanda Park, Washington
- 1.7 35 km NE of Amanda Park, Washington
- 1.6 16 km NNW of Queets, Washington
- 1.5 19 km NNW of Forks, Washington
- 1.7 12 km S of Forks, Washington
- 2.4 40 km NE of Amanda Park, Washington
- 1.5 6 km E of Queets, Washington
- 1.6 11 km E of Forks, Washington
- 2.0 35 km NE of Amanda Park, Washington
- 1.6 20 km N of Queets, 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.