QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Marietta, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Marietta in the 24 hours to 8:21 pm PST (04:21 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 55 km (34 mi) S, at 11:35 pm PDT on 1 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2,030 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Marietta

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) west of Marietta, WA, at 6:05 am PDT on 30 July 2024 (13:05 UTC), 16 km deep.

USGS: 10 km W of Marietta, Washington

19 km (12 mi) W of Bellingham, WA · 132 km (82 mi) NNW of Seattle, WA

6:05 am PDT, Jul 30, 2024 · · 16 km deep · released about 7.1 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Juan County 41 kmWhatcom County 66 kmIsland County 69 kmSkagit County 74 kmSnohomish County 107 kmClallam County 113 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
6:05 am PDT on 30 July 2024 ()
Where
11 km (7 mi) west of Marietta, WA · earthquakes near Marietta
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
16 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Juan County, 41 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
Sandy Point fault, 2 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 835 days ago

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 Marietta, 11 km away, the estimate is intensity II (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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Ferndale, Marietta-Alderwood, Birch Bay, Bellingham, Geneva, Blaine.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.1 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.1 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 lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.0 San Juan Islands, Washington · 10 km SSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 21 km SSE of Point Roberts, Washington · 20 km W of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 10 km ESE of Salt Spring Island, Canada · 46 km W of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 4 km ENE of Deming, Washington · 42 km E of this epicentre

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 48.7760, -122.7258. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Juan County, WA 41 km (25 mi) SW earthquakes near San Juan County
Whatcom County, WA 66 km (41 mi) E earthquakes near Whatcom County
Island County, WA 69 km (43 mi) S earthquakes near Island County
Skagit County, WA 74 km (46 mi) ESE earthquakes near Skagit County
Snohomish County, WA 107 km (67 mi) SE earthquakes near Snohomish County
Clallam County, WA 113 km (70 mi) SW earthquakes near Clallam 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. 1.8 8 km W of Ault Field, Washington
  2. 2.3 1 km NNE of La Conner, Washington
  3. 1.9 3 km E of Bay View, Washington
  4. 2.0 4 km WNW of Edison, Washington
  5. 2.2 2 km NNE of La Conner, Washington
  6. 1.8 9 km WNW of White Rock, Canada
  7. 2.1 2 km NNE of La Conner, Washington
  8. 2.1 2 km NE of La Conner, Washington
  9. 1.9 2 km NE of La Conner, Washington
  10. 1.6 4 km W of Mount Vernon, Washington
  11. 1.7 4 km W of Mount Vernon, Washington
  12. 1.6 8 km NNE of Sedro-Woolley, Washington
  13. 2.1 5 km WNW of Lynden, Washington
  14. 1.8 8 km SSW of Birch Bay, Washington
  15. 1.8 10 km S of Point Roberts, 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.