Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.2ml
3 km NW of Victoria, Canada
Yes. A magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded 3 km NW of Victoria, Canada, at 9:55 am PDT on 12 May 2023 (16:55 UTC), 17 km deep.
- When
- Magnitude
- M 2.2 (ml)
- Depth
- 17 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Juan County, 21 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Utsalady Point fault, 6 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 1281 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. 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 52 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 290,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 200,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 18× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.2 about 52 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 48.4598, -123.3795. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Juan County, WA | 21 km (13 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near San Juan County |
| Clallam County, WA | 54 km (34 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Clallam County |
| Island County, WA | 62 km (39 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Island County |
| Jefferson County, WA | 74 km (46 mi) | S | earthquakes near Jefferson County |
| Kitsap County, WA | 106 km (66 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Kitsap County |
| Skagit County, WA | 115 km (72 mi) | E | earthquakes near Skagit 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.
- 1.6 8 km WNW of Orcas, Washington
- 1.7 8 km WNW of Orcas, Washington
- 1.8 8 km WNW of Orcas, Washington
- 1.9 10 km S of Cowichan Bay, Canada
- 2.2 5 km NW of Orcas, Washington
- 2.4 11 km S of Metchosin, Canada
- 1.7 2 km S of River Road, Washington
- 1.5 7 km WNW of Friday Harbor, Washington
- 1.9 10 km ESE of Salt Spring Island, Canada
- 1.6 3 km N of Langford, Canada
- 1.8 10 km S of Victoria, Canada
- 2.3 5 km SSE of Esquimalt, Canada
- 2.9 8 km SW of Port Angeles, Washington
- 2.7 10 km SE of Salt Spring Island, Canada
- 1.7 6 km SW of Saanichton, Canada
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.