M1.6 earthquake 6 km E of Wallula, Washington
A magnitude 1.6 earthquake struck 6 km E of Wallula, Washington on Thu, Mar 9, 1978, 10:14 PM PST (06:14 UTC), 0 km (0 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M2.2 15 km W of Othello, Washington. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 1.6 (md), micro
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-03-10 06:14:25 UTC
- Depth
- -0.5 km (-0.3 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 46.082° N, 118.816° 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 0.1 km horizontally, 0.1 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.15
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 182°, poorly surrounded by stations
- Stations used
- 5
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 2.215 km W of Othello, Washington · 17717 days ago · 2 km deep · 94 km away
- 1.622 km SE of Desert Aire, Washington · 17704 days ago · 22 km deep · 85 km away
- 1.611 km SSE of Royal City, Washington · 17677 days ago · 2 km deep · 99 km away
- 1.511 km SSE of Royal City, Washington · 17677 days ago · 3 km deep · 99 km away
- 1.510 km SSE of Royal City, Washington · 17677 days ago · 3 km deep · 99 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayWashington earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10846073. Read Wed, Sep 23, 2026, 8:16 PM UTC.