Washington earthquakes

M1.7 earthquake 4 km ESE of Edison, Washington

A magnitude 1.7 earthquake struck 4 km ESE of Edison, Washington on Sun, Dec 16, 1979, 7:37 AM PST (15:37 UTC), 22 km (14 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M1.8 1 km WNW of Oak Harbor, Washington. This one was a foreshock.

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Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
1.7 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1979-12-16 15:37:37 UTC
Depth
22.0 km (13.7 mi), shallow
Epicenter
48.545° N, 122.394° 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 1.3 km horizontally, 2.1 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.09
Depth from
Operator assigned
Station coverage gap
214°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
10

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 11 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.56 km NNW of Port Townsend, Washington · 17075 days ago · 21 km deep · 52 km away
  2. 1.54 km NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 17073 days ago · 10 km deep · 97 km away
  3. 1.81 km WNW of Oak Harbor, Washington · 17070 days ago · 33 km deep · 34 km away
  4. 1.53 km W of Fobes Hill, Washington · 17051 days ago · 21 km deep · 68 km away
  5. 1.55 km NE of Lake McMurray, Washington · 17041 days ago · 13 km deep · 26 km away
  6. 1.67 km ENE of Lofall, Washington · 17040 days ago · 22 km deep · 79 km away
  7. 1.611 km ENE of Acme, Washington · 17038 days ago · 1 km deep · 34 km away

Before

  1. 2.22 km E of Edison, Washington · 17096 days ago · 25 km deep · 3 km away
  2. 2.16 km SE of Edison, Washington · 17102 days ago · 18 km deep · 3 km away
  3. 2.516 km SE of Friday Harbor, Washington · 17102 days ago · 54 km deep · 38 km away
  4. 1.54 km WSW of Alger, Washington · 17103 days ago · 4 km deep · 7 km away
  5. 1.53 km ESE of Edison, Washington · 17103 days ago · 18 km deep · 1 km away
  6. 1.83 km ENE of Edison, Washington · 17103 days ago · 15 km deep · 3 km away
  7. 1.64 km SE of Edison, Washington · 17103 days ago · 20 km deep · 2 km away
  8. 3.53 km E of Edison, Washington · 17103 days ago · 12 km deep · 1 km away
  9. 1.63 km W of Alger, Washington · 17103 days ago · 17 km deep · 8 km away
  10. 2.42 km SE of Edison, Washington · 17103 days ago · 8 km deep · 1 km away
  11. 3.84 km E of Edison, Washington · 17103 days ago · 15 km deep · 1 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10851528. Read Thu, Sep 24, 2026, 8:04 AM UTC.