QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7ml

Earthquake near Forks, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Forks in the 24 hours to 4:10 pm PST (00:10 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 2.7 earthquake was recorded 12 km (7 mi) east-southeast of Forks, WA, at 12:31 am PDT on 30 May 2023 (07:31 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 11 km ESE of Forks, Washington

12:31 am PDT, May 30, 2023 · · -0.2 km deep · released about 340 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Clallam County 35 kmJefferson County 54 kmGrays Harbor County 93 kmMason County 101 kmSan Juan County 108 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
12:31 am PDT on 30 May 2023 ()
Where
12 km (7 mi) east-southeast of Forks, WA · earthquakes near Forks
Magnitude
M 2.7 (ml)
Depth
-0.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Clallam County, 35 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
Calawah fault, 16 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 1195 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 25 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Forks, 12 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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.

Likely felt in: Forks 12 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 340 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 45,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 32,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 340 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 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 47.9048, -124.2413. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Clallam County, WA 35 km (22 mi) NE earthquakes near Clallam County
Jefferson County, WA 54 km (34 mi) ESE earthquakes near Jefferson County
Grays Harbor County, WA 93 km (58 mi) SSE earthquakes near Grays Harbor County
Mason County, WA 101 km (63 mi) SE earthquakes near Mason County
San Juan County, WA 108 km (67 mi) NE earthquakes near San Juan County
Island County, WA 120 km (75 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. 1.6 5 km WSW of Forks, Washington
  2. 3.1 18 km ESE of Forks, Washington
  3. 0.8 14 km W of Sekiu, Washington
  4. 0.6 12 km SSE of Neah Bay, Washington
  5. 0.7 12 km SSE of Neah Bay, Washington
  6. 1.6 16 km NNW of Queets, Washington
  7. 1.5 19 km NNW of Forks, Washington
  8. 2.1 26 km W of Forks, Washington
  9. 1.7 12 km S of Forks, Washington
  10. 1.5 6 km E of Queets, Washington
  11. 1.6 11 km E of Forks, Washington
  12. 1.6 20 km N of Queets, Washington
  13. 1.6 4 km WSW of Forks, Washington
  14. 1.5 12 km NNW of Amanda Park, Washington
  15. 1.6 15 km NNE of Amanda Park, 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.