Washington earthquakes

M3.8 earthquake 3 km SW of Clear Lake, Washington

A magnitude 3.8 earthquake struck 3 km SW of Clear Lake, Washington on Wed, Mar 17, 2004, 3:34 AM PST (11:34 UTC), 0 km (0 mi) below the surface.

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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: Wed, Mar 17, 2004, 3:34 AM PST
UTC: 2004-03-17 11:34:27 UTC
Depth: -0.4 km (-0.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 48.446° N, 122.269° W
Region: Washington
Felt reports: 232
Strongest shaking: III, weak shaking
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 · ±0.05 · 11 stations
3.8	Md, duration	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Reviewed

What happened

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

Felt (V) at Mount Vernon; (III) at Burlington and Sedro Woolley.

From the USGS event page for uw10601248. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.

Shaking

The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.

Strongest estimated: III, weak shaking
Map: Automatic

USGS ShakeMap: estimated shaking intensity around the epicenter — Estimated shaking intensity. Map: USGS ShakeMap.

Did you feel it?

232 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was V, moderate shaking.

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 0.1 km horizontally, 0.2 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.05
Depth from: Operator assigned
Station coverage gap: 79°
Stations used: 53

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 14 in the 60 days after this one and 7 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 uw10601248 (also filed as usp000cq5j, uw03171134). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 3:21 AM UTC.