Washington earthquakes

M1.5 earthquake 18 km SW of Othello, Washington

A magnitude 1.5 earthquake struck 18 km SW of Othello, Washington on Fri, Aug 27, 1971, 1:27 PM PDT (20:27 UTC), 3 km (2 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M1.7 4 km N of Kahlotus, 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), micro
Local time
UTC
1971-08-27 20:27:49 UTC
Depth
2.6 km (1.6 mi), shallow
Epicenter
46.706° N, 119.336° 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 0.8 km horizontally, 4.3 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.23
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
142°
Stations used
5

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 11 in the 60 days after this one and 7 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.519 km SE of Royal City, Washington · 20116 days ago · 0 km deep · 12 km away
  2. 1.74 km N of Kahlotus, Washington · 20107 days ago · 5 km deep · 60 km away
  3. 1.618 km SE of Royal City, Washington · 20104 days ago · 0 km deep · 13 km away
  4. 2.7Washington · 20092 days ago · 2 km deep · 8 km away
  5. 1.512 km NNW of Basin City, Washington · 20092 days ago · 1 km deep · 8 km away
  6. 1.611 km NNW of Basin City, Washington · 20088 days ago · 2 km deep · 8 km away
  7. 1.912 km NW of Basin City, Washington · 20087 days ago · 1 km deep · 7 km away
  8. 1.712 km NW of Basin City, Washington · 20082 days ago · 1 km deep · 7 km away
  9. 1.51 km SSE of Wapato, Washington · 20072 days ago · 18 km deep · 88 km away
  10. 1.53 km SE of Wapato, Washington · 20072 days ago · 8 km deep · 86 km away
  11. 3.822 km SSE of Royal City, Washington · 20058 days ago · 4 km deep · 16 km away

Before

  1. 1.518 km SW of Othello, Washington · 20117 days ago · 0 km deep · 1 km away
  2. 1.918 km SW of Othello, Washington · 20117 days ago · 1 km deep · 1 km away
  3. 1.611 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 20118 days ago · 2 km deep · 22 km away
  4. 1.518 km SW of Othello, Washington · 20122 days ago · 0 km deep · 1 km away
  5. 2.29 km W of Benton City, Washington · 20124 days ago · 9 km deep · 53 km away
  6. 1.615 km SW of Othello, Washington · 20135 days ago · 0 km deep · 4 km away
  7. 1.516 km W of Othello, Washington · 20140 days ago · 0 km deep · 12 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10839638. Read Thu, Sep 24, 2026, 9:34 AM UTC.