Washington earthquakes

M1.6 earthquake 22 km SE of Desert Aire, Washington

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake struck 22 km SE of Desert Aire, Washington on Tue, Apr 4, 1978, 3:18 AM PST (11:18 UTC), 22 km (14 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M1.7 11 km S of Ellensburg, Washington. This one was a foreshock.

Desert Aire forecastMore in Washington

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

The earthquake

Magnitude
1.6 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1978-04-04 11:18:20 UTC
Depth
22.4 km (13.9 mi), shallow
Epicenter
46.552° N, 119.683° 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 2.0 km horizontally, 1.2 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.05
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
138°
Stations used
8

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 16 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.711 km S of Ellensburg, Washington · 17703 days ago · 23 km deep · 76 km away
  2. 1.88 km WNW of Cascade Valley, Washington · 17695 days ago · 15 km deep · 69 km away
  3. 1.611 km SSE of Royal City, Washington · 17676 days ago · 2 km deep · 31 km away
  4. 1.511 km SSE of Royal City, Washington · 17676 days ago · 3 km deep · 31 km away
  5. 1.510 km SSE of Royal City, Washington · 17676 days ago · 3 km deep · 31 km away
  6. 1.521 km WSW of Basin City, Washington · 17662 days ago · 17 km deep · 20 km away
  7. 1.515 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 17656 days ago · 0 km deep · 36 km away
  8. 2.010 km SSE of Royal City, Washington · 17650 days ago · 4 km deep · 31 km away
  9. 1.815 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 17649 days ago · 0 km deep · 35 km away
  10. 1.615 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 17649 days ago · 0 km deep · 36 km away
  11. 1.516 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 17649 days ago · 3 km deep · 36 km away
  12. 1.714 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 17649 days ago · 0 km deep · 37 km away
  13. 1.815 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 17648 days ago · 0 km deep · 35 km away
  14. 1.515 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 17648 days ago · 0 km deep · 35 km away
  15. 1.516 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 17647 days ago · 0 km deep · 35 km away
  16. 1.516 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 17647 days ago · 2 km deep · 35 km away

Before

  1. 2.215 km W of Othello, Washington · 17716 days ago · 2 km deep · 39 km away
  2. 1.8Washington · 17726 days ago · 24 km deep · 70 km away
  3. 1.66 km E of Wallula, Washington · 17729 days ago · 0 km deep · 85 km away

Earthquakes todayWashington earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10846428. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:45 PM UTC.