M1.7 earthquake 6 km NW of Orcas, Washington
A magnitude 1.7 earthquake struck 6 km NW of Orcas, Washington on Sat, Apr 17, 1976, 1:23 PM PST (21:23 UTC), 15 km (9 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M1.9 6 km NW of Sedro-Woolley, Washington. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 1.7 (md), micro
- Local time
- UTC
- 1976-04-17 21:23:40 UTC
- Depth
- 15.2 km (9.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 48.639° N, 123.007° 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 1.3 km horizontally, 2.6 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.15
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 208°, poorly surrounded by stations
- Stations used
- 7
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 1.96 km NW of Sedro-Woolley, Washington · 18409 days ago · -1 km deep · 54 km away
- 1.87 km ESE of Quilcene, Washington · 18407 days ago · 17 km deep · 95 km away
- 2.16 km NW of Orcas, Washington · 18403 days ago · 17 km deep · 1 km away
- 2.48 km NNE of Marrowstone, Washington · 18403 days ago · 53 km deep · 64 km away
- 2.414 km WNW of Orcas, Washington · 18402 days ago · 14 km deep · 9 km away
- 5.110 km ESE of Salt Spring Island, Canada · 18391 days ago · 62 km deep · 31 km away
- 2.28 km S of Concrete, Washington · 18372 days ago · 4 km deep · 96 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayWashington earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10841178. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 5:24 PM UTC.