QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

5 km SW of Aldergrove, Canada

Yes. A magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 5 km SW of Aldergrove, Canada, 30 km (19 mi) N of Bellingham, WA, at 4:57 pm PDT on 4 June 2023 (23:57 UTC), 12 km deep.

30 km (19 mi) N of Bellingham, WA · 120 km (75 mi) NNW of Everett, WA

· 12 km deep · released about 37 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Whatcom County 54 kmSan Juan County 72 kmSkagit County 78 kmIsland County 97 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
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Whatcom County, 54 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Birch Bay fault, 21 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 1257 days ago

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 11 km (7 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: Lynden, Blaine, Everson, Nooksack, Sumas, Birch Bay.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 37 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 410,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 290,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 26× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 37 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 49.0232, -122.5170. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Whatcom County, WA 54 km (33 mi) ESE earthquakes near Whatcom County
San Juan County, WA 72 km (45 mi) SW earthquakes near San Juan County
Skagit County, WA 78 km (49 mi) SE earthquakes near Skagit County
Island County, WA 97 km (60 mi) S earthquakes near Island County
Snohomish County, WA 121 km (75 mi) SSE earthquakes near Snohomish County
Clallam County, WA 143 km (89 mi) SW earthquakes near Clallam County

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

Aftershocks so far

49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.5 12 km ENE of Mission, Canada
  2. 2.3 3 km NNW of Glacier, Washington
  3. 2.0 4 km WNW of Edison, Washington
  4. 1.8 9 km WNW of White Rock, Canada
  5. 1.8 8 km SSW of Chilliwack, Canada
  6. 2.0 7 km SW of Chilliwack, Canada
  7. 1.7 7 km SW of Chilliwack, Canada
  8. 2.1 5 km WNW of Lynden, Washington
  9. 1.8 8 km SSW of Birch Bay, Washington
  10. 1.6 9 km NNW of Maple Ridge, Canada
  11. 2.3 12 km NNE of Maple Ridge, Canada
  12. 1.6 8 km SW of Chilliwack, Canada
  13. 1.5 7 km ENE of Abbotsford, Canada
  14. 1.7 10 km NNE of Mission, Canada
  15. 1.5 5 km WSW of Ferndale, 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

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