QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 4.0ml

12 km E of Saanichton, Canada

Yes. A magnitude 4.0 earthquake was recorded 12 km E of Saanichton, Canada, at 4:05 am PDT on 26 September 2024 (11:05 UTC), 52 km deep. 2,682 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

· 52 km deep · released about 13 tons of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Juan County 13 kmIsland County 63 kmClallam County 71 kmJefferson County 89 kmSkagit County 106 kmWhatcom County 108 kmKitsap County 114 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 4.0 (ml)
Depth
52 km below the surface
Felt
2,682 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Measured shaking
intensity IV (ShakeMap)
USGS impact alert
green
Nearest
San Juan County, 13 km SE
Nearest mapped fault
Utsalady Point 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 629 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 78 km (48 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.

Likely felt in: Friday Harbor 18 km, intensity II · Anacortes 47 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 13 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 13,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 580× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 410× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 4.0 about 13 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 28× more

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 48.5807, -123.2478. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Juan County, WA 13 km (8 mi) SE earthquakes near San Juan County
Island County, WA 63 km (39 mi) SE earthquakes near Island County
Clallam County, WA 71 km (44 mi) SW earthquakes near Clallam County
Jefferson County, WA 89 km (55 mi) SSW earthquakes near Jefferson County
Skagit County, WA 106 km (66 mi) E earthquakes near Skagit County
Whatcom County, WA 108 km (67 mi) ENE earthquakes near Whatcom County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 0.4 6 km ENE of Oak Bay, Canada
  2. 1.2 7 km N of Six Mile, Canada
  3. 1.4 10 km WSW of Friday Harbor, Washington
  4. 1.7 8 km SSE of Oak Bay, Canada
  5. 0.3 13 km WSW of Marietta, Washington
  6. 1.7 14 km SW of Cowichan Bay, Canada
  7. 1.9 14 km NNE of Port Angeles East, Washington
  8. 1.6 8 km WNW of Orcas, Washington
  9. 1.7 8 km WNW of Orcas, Washington
  10. 1.8 8 km WNW of Orcas, Washington
  11. 1.9 10 km S of Cowichan Bay, Canada
  12. 2.2 5 km NW of Orcas, Washington
  13. 2.4 11 km S of Metchosin, Canada
  14. 1.5 7 km WNW of Friday Harbor, Washington
  15. 2.7 12 km WSW of Anacortes, 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.