Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3ml
5 km NNE of Oak Bay, Canada
Yes. A magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 5 km NNE of Oak Bay, Canada, at 11:52 am PST on 5 February 2023 (19:52 UTC), 24 km deep. 4 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
- When
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (ml)
- Depth
- 24 km below the surface
- Felt
- 4 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- San Juan County, 12 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- Utsalady Point fault, 12 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 840 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Friday Harbor, WA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Friday Harbor, 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. 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: Friday Harbor.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 85 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 85 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 48.4965, -123.2665. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Juan County, WA | 12 km (7 mi) | E | earthquakes near San Juan County |
| Island County, WA | 58 km (36 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Island County |
| Clallam County, WA | 63 km (39 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Clallam County |
| Jefferson County, WA | 79 km (49 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Jefferson County |
| Kitsap County, WA | 106 km (66 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Kitsap County |
| Skagit County, WA | 107 km (66 mi) | E | earthquakes near Skagit 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.
- 1.7 6 km E of North Saanich, Canada
- 1.8 5 km SE of Oak Bay, Canada
- 1.9 5 km NNE of Port Angeles, Washington
- 1.7 2 km NE of Six Mile, Canada
- 2.1 4 km WSW of Ault Field, Washington
- 2.1 7 km NW of Jamestown, Washington
- 1.5 8 km WNW of Orcas, Washington
- 2.5 4 km ENE of Oak Bay, Canada
- 1.5 10 km E of Orcas, Washington
- 4.5 2025 Orcas Island, Washington
- 2.3 1 km NNE of Esquimalt, Canada
- 3.7 16 km SSE of Victoria, Canada
- 1.8 17 km NNW of Jamestown, Washington
- 1.5 11 km NNW of Orcas, Washington
- 2.8 10 km WSW 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
- 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.