Washington earthquakes

M1.5 earthquake 5 km ENE of Mesa, Washington

A magnitude 1.5 earthquake struck 5 km ENE of Mesa, Washington on Mon, Dec 17, 1979, 3:46 PM PST (23:46 UTC), 4 km (2 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.0 4 km ENE of Mesa, Washington. This one was a foreshock.

Connell forecastMore in Washington

Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude
1.5 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1979-12-17 23:46:36 UTC
Depth
4.0 km (2.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter
46.587° N, 118.939° 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 1.4 km horizontally, 1.2 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.11
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
231°, 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: 18 in the 60 days after this one and 15 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 2.04 km ENE of Mesa, Washington · 17081 days ago · 4 km deep · 1 km away
  2. 1.95 km ENE of Mesa, Washington · 17077 days ago · 4 km deep · 1 km away
  3. 1.73 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17076 days ago · 0 km deep · 63 km away
  4. 1.83 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17076 days ago · 1 km deep · 63 km away
  5. 2.03 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17074 days ago · 0 km deep · 63 km away
  6. 1.72 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17074 days ago · 0 km deep · 64 km away
  7. 1.63 km NE of Royal City, Washington · 17073 days ago · 3 km deep · 63 km away
  8. 1.85 km N of Royal City, Washington · 17073 days ago · 0 km deep · 67 km away
  9. 1.73 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17073 days ago · 0 km deep · 64 km away
  10. 1.64 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17073 days ago · 1 km deep · 64 km away
  11. 1.73 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17072 days ago · 0 km deep · 64 km away
  12. 1.53 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17072 days ago · 0 km deep · 64 km away
  13. 1.618 km SW of Othello, Washington · 17072 days ago · 0 km deep · 35 km away
  14. 2.918 km W of Othello, Washington · 17062 days ago · 0 km deep · 44 km away
  15. 1.511 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 17039 days ago · 4 km deep · 52 km away
  16. 1.513 km NNE of West Richland, Washington · 17031 days ago · 0 km deep · 33 km away
  17. 1.58 km WNW of Odessa, Washington · 17028 days ago · 13 km deep · 86 km away
  18. 1.86 km ENE of Mesa, Washington · 17023 days ago · 3 km deep · 2 km away

Before

  1. 1.63 km ENE of Royal City, Washington · 17085 days ago · 0 km deep · 61 km away
  2. 1.83 km ENE of Royal City, Washington · 17092 days ago · 2 km deep · 61 km away
  3. 2.66 km ENE of Royal City, Washington · 17097 days ago · 0 km deep · 61 km away
  4. 1.83 km NE of Royal City, Washington · 17103 days ago · 4 km deep · 62 km away
  5. 1.55 km NE of Royal City, Washington · 17104 days ago · 0 km deep · 63 km away
  6. 3.45 km NE of Royal City, Washington · 17104 days ago · 3 km deep · 62 km away
  7. 2.54 km NE of Royal City, Washington · 17104 days ago · 2 km deep · 63 km away
  8. 2.64 km NE of Royal City, Washington · 17106 days ago · 2 km deep · 62 km away
  9. 1.74 km NE of Royal City, Washington · 17107 days ago · 0 km deep · 62 km away
  10. 2.85 km ENE of Royal City, Washington · 17108 days ago · 1 km deep · 61 km away
  11. 1.56 km NE of Royal City, Washington · 17110 days ago · 0 km deep · 63 km away
  12. 1.54 km ENE of Royal City, Washington · 17110 days ago · 0 km deep · 61 km away
  13. 1.84 km NE of Royal City, Washington · 17110 days ago · 5 km deep · 62 km away
  14. 2.85 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 17111 days ago · 3 km deep · 58 km away
  15. 1.55 km NE of Royal City, Washington · 17111 days ago · 2 km deep · 63 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10851553. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:15 PM UTC.