Washington earthquakes

M1.8 earthquake Washington

A magnitude 1.8 earthquake struck in Washington on Tue, Oct 17, 1972, 12:28 AM PDT (07:28 UTC), 3 km (2 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.2 17 km WSW of Othello, 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
1.8 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1972-10-17 07:28:13 UTC
Depth
2.6 km (1.6 mi), shallow
Epicenter
46.742° N, 119.403° 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 0.1 km horizontally, 0.5 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.22
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
68°
Stations used
14

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 11 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.819 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 19699 days ago · 2 km deep · 0 km away
  2. 1.517 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 19698 days ago · 2 km deep · 3 km away
  3. 1.819 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 19697 days ago · 2 km deep · 0 km away
  4. 1.83 km NW of Desert Aire, Washington · 19693 days ago · 9 km deep · 41 km away
  5. 1.61 km SW of West Richland, Washington · 19689 days ago · 0 km deep · 49 km away
  6. 1.72 km SSW of West Richland, Washington · 19689 days ago · 5 km deep · 51 km away
  7. 1.717 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 19678 days ago · 2 km deep · 2 km away
  8. 1.717 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 19663 days ago · 2 km deep · 2 km away
  9. 2.217 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 19657 days ago · 2 km deep · 2 km away
  10. 1.518 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 19656 days ago · 0 km deep · 2 km away
  11. 2.117 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 19656 days ago · 2 km deep · 2 km away
  12. 1.618 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 19656 days ago · 0 km deep · 2 km away
  13. 1.518 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 19655 days ago · 0 km deep · 2 km away
  14. 1.617 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 19653 days ago · 2 km deep · 2 km away
  15. 1.918 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 19650 days ago · 2 km deep · 1 km away
  16. 2.617 km S of Mesa, Washington · 19646 days ago · 2 km deep · 46 km away
  17. 2.517 km S of Mesa, Washington · 19646 days ago · 2 km deep · 46 km away

Before

  1. 2.112 km WSW of Royal City, Washington · 19702 days ago · 3 km deep · 30 km away
  2. 1.519 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 19705 days ago · 2 km deep · 1 km away
  3. 1.514 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 19710 days ago · 3 km deep · 11 km away
  4. 2.013 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 19710 days ago · 2 km deep · 11 km away
  5. 1.814 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 19720 days ago · 4 km deep · 11 km away
  6. 1.814 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 19721 days ago · 2 km deep · 11 km away
  7. 1.58 km WNW of Othello, Washington · 19721 days ago · 16 km deep · 16 km away
  8. 1.914 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 19725 days ago · 1 km deep · 11 km away
  9. 1.914 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 19725 days ago · 0 km deep · 12 km away
  10. 2.114 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 19725 days ago · 0 km deep · 11 km away
  11. 1.914 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 19726 days ago · 2 km deep · 11 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10854473. Read Wed, Sep 23, 2026, 8:10 AM UTC.