Washington earthquakes

M1.7 earthquake 15 km SW of Othello, Washington

A magnitude 1.7 earthquake struck 15 km SW of Othello, Washington on Sun, Aug 23, 1970, 5:16 AM PDT (12:16 UTC), 0 km (0 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.5 5 km NNE of Terrace Heights, 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.

Open the live map with earthquakes

The earthquake

Magnitude
1.7 (Md, duration), micro
Magnitude from
Pacific Northwest Seismic Network
Local time
UTC
1970-08-23 12:16:55 UTC
Depth
-0.3 km (-0.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter
46.749° N, 119.337° 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 0.0 km horizontally, 0.0 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.20
Depth from
Operator assigned
Station coverage gap
125°
Stations used
9

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 37 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.515 km SW of Othello, Washington · 20493 days ago · 3 km deep · 1 km away
  2. 1.510 km W of Othello, Washington · 20493 days ago · 4 km deep · 9 km away
  3. 1.515 km SW of Othello, Washington · 20493 days ago · 0 km deep · 1 km away
  4. 2.024 km E of Desert Aire, Washington · 20490 days ago · 0 km deep · 22 km away
  5. 1.710 km WNW of Othello, Washington · 20489 days ago · 2 km deep · 11 km away
  6. 2.95 km SSE of Washtucna, Washington · 20485 days ago · 10 km deep · 80 km away
  7. 1.615 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 20483 days ago · 5 km deep · 1 km away
  8. 1.516 km SW of Othello, Washington · 20479 days ago · 0 km deep · 1 km away
  9. 3.55 km NNE of Terrace Heights, Washington · 20476 days ago · 18 km deep · 82 km away
  10. 1.611 km W of Moses Lake North, Washington · 20474 days ago · 2 km deep · 49 km away
  11. 1.510 km SW of Benton City, Washington · 20472 days ago · 21 km deep · 64 km away
  12. 1.614 km W of Othello, Washington · 20470 days ago · 0 km deep · 7 km away
  13. 1.814 km NNE of West Richland, Washington · 20468 days ago · 0 km deep · 37 km away
  14. 1.63 km WNW of Benton City, Washington · 20466 days ago · 8 km deep · 55 km away
  15. 2.217 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 20458 days ago · 0 km deep · 3 km away
  16. 2.917 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 20457 days ago · 4 km deep · 4 km away
  17. 2.711 km SSE of George, Washington · 20457 days ago · 25 km deep · 44 km away
  18. 2.49 km SE of Royal City, Washington · 20456 days ago · 2 km deep · 19 km away
  19. 1.58 km SE of Royal City, Washington · 20455 days ago · 5 km deep · 20 km away
  20. 3.017 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 20455 days ago · 4 km deep · 3 km away
  21. 1.810 km SE of Royal City, Washington · 20455 days ago · 0 km deep · 18 km away
  22. 3.416 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 20454 days ago · 4 km deep · 3 km away
  23. 1.817 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 20454 days ago · 2 km deep · 3 km away
  24. 2.117 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 20453 days ago · 0 km deep · 3 km away
  25. 1.517 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 20452 days ago · 3 km deep · 3 km away
  26. 1.810 km E of Prosser, Washington · 20450 days ago · 12 km deep · 66 km away
  27. 1.917 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 20448 days ago · 0 km deep · 3 km away
  28. 1.615 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 20445 days ago · 0 km deep · 1 km away
  29. 2.08 km NNW of Mesa, Washington · 20444 days ago · 5 km deep · 24 km away
  30. 1.618 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 20442 days ago · 0 km deep · 4 km away
  31. 1.57 km NE of Basin City, Washington · 20441 days ago · 4 km deep · 22 km away
  32. 1.86 km NE of Basin City, Washington · 20441 days ago · 3 km deep · 22 km away
  33. 1.86 km NE of Basin City, Washington · 20441 days ago · 3 km deep · 22 km away
  34. 1.716 km ENE of George, Washington · 20439 days ago · 23 km deep · 47 km away
  35. 1.915 km ENE of George, Washington · 20439 days ago · 18 km deep · 51 km away
  36. 1.86 km NE of Basin City, Washington · 20437 days ago · 3 km deep · 22 km away
  37. 1.77 km NE of Basin City, Washington · 20436 days ago · 0 km deep · 23 km away

Before

  1. 3.415 km SW of Othello, Washington · 20494 days ago · 3 km deep · 1 km away
  2. 2.17 km WNW of Starbuck, Washington · 20502 days ago · 0 km deep · 88 km away
  3. 1.915 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 20519 days ago · 0 km deep · 13 km away
  4. 1.615 km W of Othello, Washington · 20521 days ago · 0 km deep · 8 km away

Earthquakes todayWashington earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10836843. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 8:36 PM UTC.