Washington earthquakes

M2.3 earthquake 9 km SSW of Gold Bar, Washington

A magnitude 2.3 earthquake struck 9 km SSW of Gold Bar, Washington on Fri, May 5, 1978, 2:18 PM PDT (21:18 UTC), 3 km (2 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.5 2 km ENE of Lake McMurray, Washington. This one was a foreshock.

Gold Bar 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
2.3 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1978-05-05 21:18:59 UTC
Depth
3.1 km (1.9 mi), shallow
Epicenter
47.785° N, 121.762° 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 1.2 km horizontally, 22.6 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.09
Depth from
Operator assigned
Station coverage gap
161°
Stations used
18

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 10 in the 60 days after this one and 11 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 2.06 km WNW of Burley, Washington · 17668 days ago · 15 km deep · 81 km away
  2. 1.57 km W of Burley, Washington · 17667 days ago · 24 km deep · 83 km away
  3. 1.82 km E of Sammamish, Washington · 17664 days ago · 11 km deep · 27 km away
  4. 1.83 km N of Woods Creek, Washington · 17661 days ago · 5 km deep · 18 km away
  5. 2.52 km ENE of Lake McMurray, Washington · 17657 days ago · 5 km deep · 68 km away
  6. 1.57 km WSW of Ault Field, Washington · 17651 days ago · 15 km deep · 96 km away
  7. 1.55 km SSE of Edison, Washington · 17642 days ago · 17 km deep · 95 km away
  8. 1.58 km SSW of Gold Bar, Washington · 17635 days ago · 3 km deep · 1 km away
  9. 2.24 km N of La Conner, Washington · 17628 days ago · 24 km deep · 90 km away
  10. 3.3Puget Sound region, Washington · 17626 days ago · 46 km deep · 76 km away

Before

  1. 2.35 km SE of Anacortes, Washington · 17672 days ago · 14 km deep · 97 km away
  2. 1.62 km N of Artondale, Washington · 17672 days ago · 20 km deep · 83 km away
  3. 1.92 km SSE of Belfair, Washington · 17675 days ago · 19 km deep · 88 km away
  4. 1.75 km W of Burley, Washington · 17676 days ago · 21 km deep · 81 km away
  5. 1.70 km W of Lyman, Washington · 17677 days ago · -1 km deep · 86 km away
  6. 1.72 km W of Artondale, Washington · 17680 days ago · 23 km deep · 86 km away
  7. 2.23 km WSW of Artondale, Washington · 17682 days ago · 23 km deep · 87 km away
  8. 1.55 km SE of Hansville, Washington · 17682 days ago · 50 km deep · 56 km away
  9. 1.818 km SE of Carbonado, Washington · 17697 days ago · 20 km deep · 93 km away
  10. 1.86 km W of Burley, Washington · 17701 days ago · 22 km deep · 82 km away
  11. 1.86 km WNW of Burley, Washington · 17701 days ago · 23 km deep · 82 km away

Earthquakes todayWashington earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10846788. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 12:17 PM UTC.