Washington earthquakes

M1.9 earthquake 18 km WSW of Othello, Washington

A magnitude 1.9 earthquake struck 18 km WSW of Othello, Washington on Tue, Dec 5, 1972, 12:20 PM PST (20:20 UTC), 2 km (1 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.6 17 km S of Mesa, 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
1.9 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1972-12-05 20:20:39 UTC
Depth
2.1 km (1.3 mi), shallow
Epicenter
46.751° N, 119.390° 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 0.3 km horizontally, 1.1 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.27
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
57°
Stations used
16

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 8 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 2.617 km S of Mesa, Washington · 19645 days ago · 2 km deep · 46 km away
  2. 2.517 km S of Mesa, Washington · 19645 days ago · 2 km deep · 46 km away

Before

  1. 1.617 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 19652 days ago · 2 km deep · 1 km away
  2. 1.518 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 19654 days ago · 0 km deep · 0 km away
  3. 1.618 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 19655 days ago · 0 km deep · 0 km away
  4. 2.117 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 19655 days ago · 2 km deep · 0 km away
  5. 1.518 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 19655 days ago · 0 km deep · 0 km away
  6. 2.217 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 19656 days ago · 2 km deep · 1 km away
  7. 1.717 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 19662 days ago · 2 km deep · 1 km away
  8. 1.717 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 19677 days ago · 2 km deep · 1 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10855168. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:39 AM UTC.