M2.0 earthquake 1 km S of Waterville, Washington
A magnitude 2.0 earthquake struck 1 km S of Waterville, Washington on Wed, Dec 20, 1972, 7:37 PM PST (03:37 UTC), 5 km (3 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M2.6 17 km SW of Ellensburg, Washington. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 2.0 (md), micro
- Local time
- UTC
- 1972-12-21 03:37:55 UTC
- Depth
- 5.0 km (3.1 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 47.634° N, 120.069° W
- Region
- Washington
- 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 1.1 km horizontally, 1.8 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.09
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 294°, poorly surrounded by stations
- Stations used
- 11
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 2.214 km N of Cliffdell, Washington · 19639 days ago · 8 km deep · 97 km away
- 1.93 km SE of Waterville, Washington · 19599 days ago · 8 km deep · 3 km away
- 2.617 km SW of Ellensburg, Washington · 19594 days ago · -1 km deep · 96 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayWashington earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10855398. Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 4:15 AM UTC.