M1.8 earthquake 4 km SSW of Des Moines, Washington
A magnitude 1.8 earthquake struck 4 km SSW of Des Moines, Washington on Wed, May 2, 1979, 8:35 PM PDT (03:35 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M2.2 16 km N of Mossyrock, Washington. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 1.8 (md), micro
- Local time
- UTC
- 1979-05-03 03:35:32 UTC
- Depth
- 10.3 km (6.4 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 47.364° N, 122.344° 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, 1.3 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.08
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 57°
- Stations used
- 16
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 9 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 2.216 km N of Mossyrock, Washington · 17291 days ago · 8 km deep · 77 km away
- 1.717 km N of Mossyrock, Washington · 17287 days ago · -1 km deep · 76 km away
- 2.315 km NNW of Cliffdell, Washington · 17285 days ago · 4 km deep · 94 km away
- 1.74 km ENE of Verlot, Washington · 17281 days ago · 14 km deep · 95 km away
- 2.42 km W of Fox Island, Washington · 17265 days ago · 23 km deep · 27 km away
- 1.73 km W of Covington, Washington · 17258 days ago · 1 km deep · 13 km away
- 2.56 km S of Vashon, Washington · 17254 days ago · 48 km deep · 9 km away
Before
- 1.55 km W of Burley, Washington · 17311 days ago · 23 km deep · 28 km away
- 2.018 km ESE of Carbonado, Washington · 17316 days ago · 13 km deep · 56 km away
- 1.94 km SSW of Hansville, Washington · 17322 days ago · 9 km deep · 60 km away
- 1.55 km SW of Coupeville, Washington · 17322 days ago · 16 km deep · 96 km away
- 1.6Washington · 17323 days ago · 2 km deep · 72 km away
- 1.56 km NE of Fall City, Washington · 17327 days ago · 18 km deep · 48 km away
- 1.74 km NNE of Snoqualmie, Washington · 17334 days ago · 17 km deep · 47 km away
- 1.5Washington · 17334 days ago · 21 km deep · 55 km away
- 1.82 km NE of Hansville, Washington · 17336 days ago · 51 km deep · 64 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10849668. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 10:58 AM UTC.