M1.6 earthquake 6 km NE of Waterville, Washington
A magnitude 1.6 earthquake struck 6 km NE of Waterville, Washington on Wed, Mar 15, 1978, 6:51 PM PST (02:51 UTC), 2 km (1 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M3.3 17 km NE of Bridgeport, 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
- 1978-03-16 02:51:33 UTC
- Depth
- 2.1 km (1.3 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 47.694° N, 120.024° 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 0.2 km horizontally, 0.9 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.04
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 130°
- Stations used
- 6
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 3.317 km NE of Bridgeport, Washington · 17717 days ago · 12 km deep · 61 km away
- 1.815 km NE of Bridgeport, Washington · 17717 days ago · 11 km deep · 59 km away
- 1.711 km S of Ellensburg, Washington · 17703 days ago · 23 km deep · 97 km away
- 1.610 km W of Entiat, Washington · 17695 days ago · 0 km deep · 24 km away
- 1.88 km WNW of Cascade Valley, Washington · 17695 days ago · 15 km deep · 75 km away
- 3.37 km NNW of Entiat, Washington · 17691 days ago · 4 km deep · 17 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayWashington earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10846188. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 5:19 PM UTC.