Washington earthquakes

M1.6 earthquake Washington

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake struck in Washington on Wed, Aug 16, 1972, 12:44 PM PDT (19:44 UTC), 3 km (2 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M1.7 15 km ESE of Royal City, Washington. This one was a foreshock.

Royal City 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
1.6 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1972-08-16 19:44:59 UTC
Depth
2.6 km (1.6 mi), shallow
Epicenter
46.828° N, 119.457° 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, 0.9 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.14
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
129°
Stations used
8

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 17 in the 60 days after this one and 6 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.615 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 19760 days ago · 2 km deep · 0 km away
  2. 1.715 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 19760 days ago · 3 km deep · 0 km away
  3. 1.814 km WNW of Othello, Washington · 19748 days ago · 2 km deep · 9 km away
  4. 1.514 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 19745 days ago · 1 km deep · 1 km away
  5. 1.615 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 19739 days ago · 2 km deep · 1 km away
  6. 1.621 km NNW of Benton City, Washington · 19736 days ago · 18 km deep · 44 km away
  7. 1.914 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 19726 days ago · 2 km deep · 1 km away
  8. 2.114 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 19725 days ago · 0 km deep · 1 km away
  9. 1.914 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 19725 days ago · 0 km deep · 1 km away
  10. 1.914 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 19725 days ago · 1 km deep · 1 km away
  11. 1.58 km WNW of Othello, Washington · 19720 days ago · 16 km deep · 14 km away
  12. 1.814 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 19720 days ago · 2 km deep · 1 km away
  13. 1.814 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 19720 days ago · 4 km deep · 1 km away
  14. 2.013 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 19710 days ago · 2 km deep · 2 km away
  15. 1.514 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 19710 days ago · 3 km deep · 1 km away
  16. 1.519 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 19705 days ago · 2 km deep · 12 km away
  17. 2.112 km WSW of Royal City, Washington · 19702 days ago · 3 km deep · 24 km away

Before

  1. 1.515 km ESE of Royal City, WA · 19760 days ago · 1 km deep · 1 km away
  2. 1.815 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 19760 days ago · 0 km deep · 1 km away
  3. 1.816 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 19760 days ago · 3 km deep · 1 km away
  4. 1.815 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 19761 days ago · 2 km deep · 1 km away
  5. 1.611 km NE of Sunnyslope, Washington · 19768 days ago · 6 km deep · 98 km away
  6. 1.526 km NE of Sunnyside, Washington · 19772 days ago · 16 km deep · 45 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10853748. Read Wed, Sep 23, 2026, 3:47 AM UTC.