M4.2 earthquake 4 km NE of Fall City, Washington
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 4 km NE of Fall City, Washington on Sat, Dec 30, 1978, 7:23 PM PST (03:23 UTC), 18 km (11 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.2 (md), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-12-31 03:23:47 UTC
- Depth
- 17.7 km (11.0 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 47.595° N, 121.844° W
- Region
- Washington
- Strongest shaking
- IV, light shaking
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Shaking
The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.
- Strongest estimated
- IV, light shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 3.0% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 0.3 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
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
- ±0.06
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 75°
- Stations used
- 24
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 12 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 1.53 km WNW of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 17414 days ago · 18 km deep · 15 km away
- 2.56 km WSW of Coupeville, Washington · 17412 days ago · 22 km deep · 96 km away
- 1.91 km WNW of Artondale, Washington · 17404 days ago · 16 km deep · 68 km away
- 3.54 km SSW of Fall City, Washington · 17404 days ago · 7 km deep · 9 km away
- 1.64 km SSW of Fall City, Washington · 17404 days ago · 5 km deep · 8 km away
- 1.517 km WSW of Easton, Washington · 17402 days ago · 3 km deep · 58 km away
- 1.64 km ENE of Ashford, Washington · 17397 days ago · 10 km deep · 92 km away
- 1.85 km SW of Wilderness Rim, Washington · 17396 days ago · 16 km deep · 20 km away
- 2.26 km ESE of Maplewood, Washington · 17395 days ago · 8 km deep · 53 km away
- 1.51 km ENE of Silver Firs, Washington · 17394 days ago · 14 km deep · 37 km away
- 1.73 km S of Fall City, Washington · 17393 days ago · 8 km deep · 8 km away
- 1.846 km WNW of Granite Falls, Washington · 17387 days ago · 0 km deep · 100 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayWashington earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10848633 (also filed as usp0000y6u). Read Sat, Sep 26, 2026, 7:14 PM UTC.