Washington earthquakes

M1.5 earthquake 17 km WSW of Othello, Washington

A magnitude 1.5 earthquake struck 17 km WSW of Othello, Washington on Fri, Jan 2, 1970, 12:58 AM PST (08:58 UTC), 2 km (1 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.3 16 km NNE of West Richland, Washington. This one was a foreshock.

Othello forecastMore in Washington

Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude
1.5 (Md, duration), micro
Magnitude from
Pacific Northwest Seismic Network
Local time
UTC
1970-01-02 08:58:51 UTC
Depth
1.9 km (1.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter
46.749° N, 119.371° W
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty
About 0.6 km horizontally, 1.9 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.12
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
93°
Stations used
6

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 28 in the 60 days after this one and 6 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 2.07 km NW of Royal City, Washington · 20709 days ago · 0 km deep · 34 km away
  2. 2.014 km NNE of West Richland, Washington · 20709 days ago · 0 km deep · 36 km away
  3. 1.814 km NNE of West Richland, Washington · 20704 days ago · 1 km deep · 36 km away
  4. 1.816 km NNE of West Richland, Washington · 20698 days ago · 2 km deep · 36 km away
  5. 1.616 km N of Richland, Washington · 20697 days ago · 7 km deep · 37 km away
  6. 1.614 km NNE of West Richland, Washington · 20696 days ago · 5 km deep · 36 km away
  7. 2.014 km NNE of West Richland, Washington · 20693 days ago · 0 km deep · 36 km away
  8. 1.814 km NNE of West Richland, Washington · 20690 days ago · 0 km deep · 36 km away
  9. 1.815 km E of Royal City, Washington · 20690 days ago · 4 km deep · 20 km away
  10. 1.916 km NNE of West Richland, Washington · 20689 days ago · 2 km deep · 36 km away
  11. 1.616 km E of Royal City, Washington · 20689 days ago · 2 km deep · 15 km away
  12. 1.816 km E of Royal City, Washington · 20688 days ago · 1 km deep · 15 km away
  13. 1.516 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 20687 days ago · 0 km deep · 14 km away
  14. 1.716 km E of Royal City, Washington · 20686 days ago · 0 km deep · 15 km away
  15. 2.316 km NNE of West Richland, Washington · 20686 days ago · 4 km deep · 36 km away
  16. 1.517 km E of Royal City, Washington · 20684 days ago · 5 km deep · 18 km away
  17. 2.016 km E of Royal City, Washington · 20683 days ago · 0 km deep · 15 km away
  18. 2.016 km E of Royal City, Washington · 20682 days ago · 0 km deep · 15 km away
  19. 1.717 km E of Royal City, Washington · 20682 days ago · 0 km deep · 14 km away
  20. 1.914 km NNE of West Richland, Washington · 20681 days ago · 0 km deep · 37 km away
  21. 1.715 km E of Royal City, Washington · 20679 days ago · 5 km deep · 19 km away
  22. 1.817 km WNW of Othello, Washington · 20676 days ago · 5 km deep · 15 km away
  23. 1.616 km E of Royal City, Washington · 20676 days ago · 0 km deep · 15 km away
  24. 2.016 km E of Royal City, Washington · 20676 days ago · 1 km deep · 15 km away
  25. 2.315 km E of Royal City, Washington · 20668 days ago · 0 km deep · 15 km away
  26. 1.715 km NNE of Richland, Washington · 20667 days ago · 8 km deep · 38 km away
  27. 1.814 km E of Royal City, Washington · 20666 days ago · 4 km deep · 17 km away
  28. 1.614 km E of Royal City, Washington · 20666 days ago · 1 km deep · 16 km away

Before

  1. 2.66 km WNW of Prescott, Washington · 20727 days ago · 0 km deep · 88 km away
  2. 2.34 km SW of Prescott, Washington · 20727 days ago · 0 km deep · 94 km away
  3. 1.511 km NNW of Basin City, Washington · 20730 days ago · 3 km deep · 13 km away
  4. 1.812 km NNW of Basin City, Washington · 20741 days ago · 3 km deep · 12 km away
  5. 1.613 km SSW of Othello, Washington · 20746 days ago · 8 km deep · 11 km away
  6. 2.311 km ENE of Mattawa, Washington · 20756 days ago · 0 km deep · 30 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10836018. Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 4:14 PM UTC.