Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7ml
Earthquake near Mount Vernon, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Mount Vernon in the 24 hours to 3:18 am PST (11:18 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 2 km (1 mi) ENE, at 9:17 pm PDT on 11 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 10 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Mount Vernon
This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) west-southwest of Mount Vernon, WA, at 10:43 pm PDT on 11 May 2025 (05:43 UTC), 8.5 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 5 km WSW of Mount Vernon, Washington
88 km (55 mi) N of Seattle, WA · 39 km (24 mi) S of Bellingham, WA
- When
- 10:43 pm PDT on 11 May 2025 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) west-southwest of Mount Vernon, WA · earthquakes near Mount Vernon
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 8.5 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Island County, 34 km SW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Utsalady Point fault, 18 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 550 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Mount Vernon, WA
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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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Mount Vernon, 5 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.
Likely felt in: Mount Vernon 5 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,300,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 930,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 83× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 since 2016 was M 4.5 on 2025-03-03 — about 15,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.0 San Juan Islands, Washington · 44 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.0 6 km W of Conway, Washington · 9 km SSW 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 48.4095, -122.4015. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Island County, WA | 34 km (21 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Island County |
| Skagit County, WA | 44 km (27 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Skagit County |
| San Juan County, WA | 53 km (33 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near San Juan County |
| Snohomish County, WA | 61 km (38 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Snohomish County |
| Whatcom County, WA | 64 km (40 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Whatcom County |
| Kitsap County, WA | 88 km (54 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Kitsap 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.
- 1.5 2 km WNW of Arlington, Washington
- 1.8 4 km SSW of Anacortes, Washington
- 1.5 2 km ENE of Granite Falls, Washington
- 2.1 15 km ESE of Acme, Washington
- 1.6 2 km W of Port Townsend, Washington
- 1.6 3 km SE of Alger, Washington
- 1.5 4 km NW of Tulalip Bay, Washington
- 1.6 4 km SSE of Mount Vernon, Washington
- 2.7 12 km WSW of Anacortes, Washington
- 1.8 8 km W of Ault Field, Washington
- 1.7 8 km NNW of Freeland, Washington
- 2.3 1 km NNE of La Conner, Washington
- 1.9 3 km E of Bay View, Washington
- 2.1 4 km SE of Mount Vernon, Washington
- 2.0 4 km WNW of Edison, 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
- 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.