A 4.5 magnitude earthquake hit Orcas Island early on the morning of Monday, March 2. It was the biggest quake that Washington has seen since 2020, according to U.S. Geological Survey data .
It’s the latest in a string of tremors to hit the Pacific Northwest. It was the fourth earthquake with a magnitude of 3.0 or higher to hit the state since Feb. 18, according to USGS , in addition to a 4.8 magnitude quake that hit southern British Columbia.
With Washington’s location along the Cascadia Subduction Zone and several active fault lines in the state, over 1,000 earthquakes occur in the state each year, according to the Washington Emergency Management Division, although most are fairly weak. The last major earthquake to hit the state was a 6.8 magnitude that hit Nisqually in February of 2001 …