QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

10 km ESE of Salt Spring Island, Canada

Yes. A magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 10 km ESE of Salt Spring Island, Canada, at 3:31 pm PST on 21 January 2026 (23:31 UTC), 14 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

· 14 km deep · released about 25 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Juan County 37 kmClallam County 86 kmIsland County 87 kmJefferson County 111 kmWhatcom County 111 kmSkagit County 118 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 1.9 (ml)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports
Nearest
San Juan County, 37 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 282 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 5 km (3 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: Point Roberts.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 25 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 420,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 38× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 25 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 4.5 on 2025-03-03 — about 6,700 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 48.7967, -123.3540. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Juan County, WA 37 km (23 mi) SSE earthquakes near San Juan County
Clallam County, WA 86 km (53 mi) SSW earthquakes near Clallam County
Island County, WA 87 km (54 mi) SE earthquakes near Island County
Jefferson County, WA 111 km (69 mi) S earthquakes near Jefferson County
Whatcom County, WA 111 km (69 mi) E earthquakes near Whatcom County
Skagit County, WA 118 km (73 mi) ESE earthquakes near Skagit County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 0.9 7 km W of Orcas, Washington
  2. 1.3 4 km NNW of Victoria, Canada
  3. 1.2 11 km SW of Friday Harbor, Washington
  4. 1.8 2 km S of Colwood, Canada
  5. 0.7 3 km N of North Saanich, Canada
  6. 1.2 9 km NW of Friday Harbor, Washington
  7. 1.1 6 km W of Orcas, Washington
  8. 1.1 6 km W of Orcas, Washington
  9. 1.5 3 km N of Langford, Canada
  10. 0.9 2 km ENE of Six Mile, Canada
  11. 0.4 6 km ENE of Oak Bay, Canada
  12. 1.2 7 km N of Six Mile, Canada
  13. 1.4 10 km WSW of Friday Harbor, Washington
  14. 1.7 8 km SSE of Oak Bay, Canada
  15. 1.8 3 km WNW of Ladysmith, 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.