Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.0ml
Earthquake near Anacortes, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Anacortes in the 24 hours to 7:53 am PST (15:53 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 25 km (15 mi) S, at 11:35 pm PDT on 1 July 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 2,030 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Anacortes
This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) north of Anacortes, WA, at 5:06 am PDT on 1 May 2026 (12:06 UTC), 15 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 5 km N of Anacortes, Washington
24 km (15 mi) SSW of Bellingham, WA · 106 km (66 mi) N of Seattle, WA
- When
- 5:06 am PDT on 1 May 2026 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) north of Anacortes, WA · earthquakes near Anacortes
- Magnitude
- M 2.0 (ml)
- Depth
- 15 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity I
- Nearest
- San Juan County, 36 km W
- Nearest mapped fault
- Sandy Point fault, 23 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 196 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Anacortes, 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 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Anacortes, 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: Anacortes 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 32 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 470,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 330,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 30× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.0 about 32 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 5,200 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.0 San Juan Islands, Washington · 20 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.5 21 km SSE of Point Roberts, Washington · 39 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.0 6 km W of Conway, Washington · 29 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.0 4 km ENE of Deming, Washington · 46 km NE 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 48.5598, -122.6213. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Juan County, WA | 36 km (22 mi) | W | earthquakes near San Juan County |
| Island County, WA | 45 km (28 mi) | S | earthquakes near Island County |
| Skagit County, WA | 60 km (37 mi) | E | earthquakes near Skagit County |
| Whatcom County, WA | 66 km (41 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Whatcom County |
| Snohomish County, WA | 85 km (53 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Snohomish County |
| Kitsap County, WA | 102 km (64 mi) | S | earthquakes near Kitsap County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
48 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 0.9 7 km W of Orcas, Washington
- 0.7 10 km S of Acme, Washington
- 1.2 11 km SW of Friday Harbor, Washington
- 1.1 1 km WSW of Marietta, Washington
- 1.2 1 km WNW of Acme, Washington
- 0.8 4 km ENE of Oak Harbor, Washington
- 1.4 8 km SW of Camano, Washington
- 0.4 7 km NE of Sedro-Woolley, Washington
- 1.2 9 km NW of Friday Harbor, Washington
- 1.5 7 km N of Geneva, Washington
- 1.1 6 km W of Orcas, Washington
- 1.1 6 km W of Orcas, Washington
- 1.4 10 km WSW of Anacortes, Washington
- 0.9 2 km WNW of Lyman, Washington
- 0.5 11 km E of Orcas, 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.