QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3ml

8 km NNW of Bowen Island, Canada

Yes. A magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 8 km NNW of Bowen Island, Canada, at 4:03 pm PDT on 24 April 2025 (23:03 UTC), 8.7 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

· 8.7 km deep · released about 85 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Juan County 107 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 2.3 (ml)
Depth
8.7 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
San Juan County, 107 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 566 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 18 km (11 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 85 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 85 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km in our catalogue was M 4.8 on 2025-02-21 — about 5,600 times the energy of this one.

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 49.4510, -123.3972. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Juan County, WA 107 km (67 mi) SSE earthquakes near San Juan County
Whatcom County, WA 132 km (82 mi) ESE earthquakes near Whatcom County
Skagit County, WA 157 km (98 mi) SE earthquakes near Skagit County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 1 km SE of Sechelt, Canada
  2. 1.8 7 km SE of Sechelt, Canada
  3. 1.9 4 km S of Sechelt, Canada
  4. 1.6 3 km E of Sechelt, Canada
  5. 1.6 0 km SSE of Sechelt, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.