Washington earthquakes

M2.5 earthquake 9 km W of Packwood, Washington

A magnitude 2.5 earthquake struck 9 km W of Packwood, Washington on Sat, Dec 9, 1972, 7:54 AM PST (15:54 UTC), 7 km (4 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.8 9 km ESE of Ashford, Washington. This one was a foreshock.

Morton 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
2.5 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1972-12-09 15:54:38 UTC
Depth
6.8 km (4.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter
46.592° N, 121.792° 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 2.1 km horizontally, 0.8 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.11
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
203°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
7

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 13 in the 60 days after this one and 6 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.87 km ESE of Riverbend, Washington · 19645 days ago · -1 km deep · 96 km away
  2. 2.89 km ESE of Ashford, Washington · 19642 days ago · 9 km deep · 18 km away
  3. 1.89 km SW of Wilderness Rim, Washington · 19638 days ago · 7 km deep · 89 km away
  4. 2.214 km N of Cliffdell, Washington · 19632 days ago · 8 km deep · 78 km away
  5. 1.60 km W of Riverbend, Washington · 19626 days ago · 23 km deep · 97 km away
  6. 1.722 km WSW of Packwood, Washington · 19626 days ago · 3 km deep · 14 km away
  7. 2.25 km SW of Wilderness Rim, Washington · 19609 days ago · 18 km deep · 92 km away
  8. 1.920 km SW of Nile, Washington · 19605 days ago · 6 km deep · 50 km away
  9. 2.229 km N of Amboy, Washington · 19599 days ago · 17 km deep · 68 km away
  10. 2.77 km SSW of Mossyrock, Washington · 19599 days ago · 29 km deep · 58 km away
  11. 2.03 km ESE of Black Diamond, Washington · 19598 days ago · 10 km deep · 79 km away
  12. 3.329 km NE of Yacolt, Washington · 19595 days ago · 2 km deep · 67 km away
  13. 2.617 km SW of Ellensburg, Washington · 19586 days ago · -1 km deep · 89 km away

Before

  1. 1.912 km ESE of Cle Elum, Washington · 19646 days ago · 0 km deep · 98 km away
  2. 1.98 km E of Ashford, Washington · 19652 days ago · -1 km deep · 22 km away
  3. 2.335 km SSE of Morton, Washington · 19661 days ago · 3 km deep · 44 km away
  4. 2.5Washington · 19661 days ago · 2 km deep · 44 km away
  5. 1.88 km ESE of Enumclaw, Washington · 19669 days ago · 16 km deep · 66 km away
  6. 2.127 km S of Morton, Washington · 19674 days ago · 1 km deep · 46 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10855258. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 10:49 AM UTC.