M1.9 earthquake 3 km SE of Waterville, Washington
A magnitude 1.9 earthquake struck 3 km SE of Waterville, Washington on Wed, Jan 31, 1973, 8:43 PM PST (04:43 UTC), 8 km (5 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
- 1.9 (md), micro
- Local time
- UTC
- 1973-02-01 04:43:44 UTC
- Depth
- 7.9 km (4.9 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 47.630° N, 120.036° 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 0.9 km horizontally, 1.9 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.12
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 293°, poorly surrounded by stations
- Stations used
- 10
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayWashington earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10855663. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 3:16 PM UTC.