QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

3 km N of Langford, Canada

No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.5 explosion was recorded 3 km N of Langford, Canada, at 5:22 pm PDT on 7 October 2026 (00:22 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

· -0.2 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Juan County 30 kmClallam County 50 kmIsland County 72 kmJefferson County 75 kmKitsap County 113 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 1.5 (ml)
Depth
-0.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Juan County, 30 km E
Nearest mapped fault
Utsalady Point fault, 8 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 35 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 10 km (6 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.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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.

Where

Epicentre 48.4783, -123.5105. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Juan County, WA 30 km (19 mi) E earthquakes near San Juan County
Clallam County, WA 50 km (31 mi) SW earthquakes near Clallam County
Island County, WA 72 km (44 mi) ESE earthquakes near Island County
Jefferson County, WA 75 km (46 mi) S earthquakes near Jefferson County
Kitsap County, WA 113 km (70 mi) SE earthquakes near Kitsap County

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

Aftershocks so far

9 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. 1.4 8 km SW of Port Angeles, Washington
  5. 1.8 2 km S of Colwood, Canada
  6. 0.7 3 km N of North Saanich, Canada
  7. 1.2 9 km NW of Friday Harbor, Washington
  8. 1.1 6 km W of Orcas, Washington
  9. 1.1 6 km W 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

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