Washington earthquakes

M1.6 earthquake 3 km SW of Seattle, Washington

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake struck 3 km SW of Seattle, Washington on Sat, Dec 15, 1973, 6:56 PM PST (02:56 UTC), 1 km (1 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M1.7 0 km SW of Seattle, Washington. This one was a foreshock.

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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
1973-12-16 02:56:21 UTC
Depth
1.5 km (0.9 mi), shallow
Epicenter
47.588° N, 122.368° 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 0.5 km horizontally, 0.6 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.11
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
117°
Stations used
6

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 22 in the 60 days after this one and 19 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.70 km SW of Seattle, Washington · 19272 days ago · -1 km deep · 3 km away
  2. 1.515 km E of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 19266 days ago · 15 km deep · 50 km away
  3. 2.31 km NNW of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 19264 days ago · 23 km deep · 36 km away
  4. 2.40 km NE of Mercer Island, Washington · 19264 days ago · 20 km deep · 11 km away
  5. 1.83 km WSW of Seattle, Washington · 19264 days ago · -1 km deep · 0 km away
  6. 1.90 km NW of Seattle, Washington · 19263 days ago · -1 km deep · 3 km away
  7. 1.73 km SW of Seattle, Washington · 19263 days ago · 1 km deep · 1 km away
  8. 2.83 km SW of Marrowstone, Washington · 19260 days ago · 45 km deep · 55 km away
  9. 2.110 km NE of Ashford, Washington · 19258 days ago · 11 km deep · 90 km away
  10. 1.72 km NW of Lakeland South, Washington · 19256 days ago · 16 km deep · 33 km away
  11. 1.75 km NNE of Startup, Washington · 19254 days ago · 7 km deep · 61 km away
  12. 3.16 km SSE of Quilcene, Washington · 19252 days ago · 48 km deep · 40 km away
  13. 2.05 km NE of Belfair, Washington · 19252 days ago · 16 km deep · 33 km away
  14. 1.97 km ENE of Fall City, Washington · 19251 days ago · 6 km deep · 43 km away
  15. 1.78 km ENE of Tanner, Washington · 19248 days ago · 10 km deep · 56 km away
  16. 1.811 km WNW of Snoqualmie Pass, Washington · 19247 days ago · 0 km deep · 64 km away
  17. 1.91 km W of La Grande, Washington · 19233 days ago · 5 km deep · 84 km away
  18. 1.72 km E of Seattle, Washington · 19224 days ago · 4 km deep · 6 km away
  19. 1.84 km SSE of Seattle, Washington · 19224 days ago · 8 km deep · 5 km away
  20. 1.54 km NNW of Skokomish, Washington · 19219 days ago · 42 km deep · 66 km away
  21. 2.13 km N of Bryn Mawr-Skyway, Washington · 19217 days ago · 6 km deep · 12 km away
  22. 1.83 km S of Mercer Island, Washington · 19216 days ago · 11 km deep · 12 km away

Before

  1. 1.93 km SSW of Clinton, Washington · 19275 days ago · 23 km deep · 40 km away
  2. 1.65 km SW of Seattle, Washington · 19275 days ago · 1 km deep · 2 km away
  3. 2.00 km N of Seattle, Washington · 19275 days ago · -1 km deep · 4 km away
  4. 2.90 km E of Seattle, Washington · 19275 days ago · 2 km deep · 4 km away
  5. 2.00 km S of Seattle, Washington · 19275 days ago · 0 km deep · 3 km away
  6. 2.812 km NE of Ashford, Washington · 19278 days ago · 8 km deep · 90 km away
  7. 1.81 km ENE of Parkwood, Washington · 19280 days ago · 25 km deep · 17 km away
  8. 1.61 km NW of Duvall, Washington · 19280 days ago · 23 km deep · 33 km away
  9. 2.47 km SE of Quilcene, Washington · 19280 days ago · 20 km deep · 39 km away
  10. 1.92 km E of City of Sammamish, Washington · 19282 days ago · 8 km deep · 28 km away
  11. 2.415 km NE of Ashford, Washington · 19285 days ago · 4 km deep · 87 km away
  12. 1.92 km NNW of Hunts Point, Washington · 19288 days ago · 0 km deep · 13 km away
  13. 1.87 km SW of Sultan, Washington · 19289 days ago · 8 km deep · 44 km away
  14. 1.92 km SE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 19291 days ago · 24 km deep · 37 km away
  15. 1.61 km WNW of Auburn, Washington · 19293 days ago · 3 km deep · 32 km away
  16. 1.81 km ESE of Dash Point, Washington · 19298 days ago · 3 km deep · 31 km away
  17. 1.83 km NW of Home, Washington · 19298 days ago · 42 km deep · 46 km away
  18. 1.93 km S of Seattle, Washington · 19300 days ago · 2 km deep · 4 km away
  19. 2.90 km S of Seattle, Washington · 19300 days ago · -1 km deep · 3 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10857888. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 4:15 PM UTC.