Washington earthquakes

M3.8 earthquake 6 km SSE of Point Roberts, Washington

A magnitude 3.8 earthquake struck 6 km SSE of Point Roberts, Washington on Fri, Nov 29, 2002, 3:52 AM PST (11:52 UTC), 13 km (8 mi) below the surface.

Point Roberts forecast More in Washington

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 3.8 (Md, duration), minor
Magnitude from: Pacific Northwest Seismic Network
Local time: Fri, Nov 29, 2002, 3:52 AM PST
UTC: 2002-11-29 11:52:35 UTC
Depth: 13.1 km (8.1 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 48.932° N, 123.042° W
Region: Washington
Felt reports: 22
Tsunami flag: No
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

Magnitude estimates

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.	Scale	Computed by	Notes
3.8	Md, duration	Pacific Northwest Seismic Network	Preferred · Final · ±0.03 · 27 stations
3.5	mb, body-wave	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Reviewed · 2 stations

What happened

The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.

Felt (IV) at Point Roberts; (III) at Blaine, Friday Harbor, Lummi Island and Lynden; (II) at Anacortes, Bellingham, Eastsound and Ferndale. Also felt (IV) at Vancouver, British Columbia.

From the USGS event page for uw10584808. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.

Did you feel it?

22 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was III, weak shaking.

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 1.4 km horizontally, 2.1 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.03
Depth from: From location
Station coverage gap: 192°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used: 34

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 15 in the 60 days after this one and 5 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes today Washington earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10584808 (also filed as usp000bjq2, uw11291152). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 3:25 AM UTC.