Washington earthquakes

M2.0 earthquake 4 km ENE of Mesa, Washington

A magnitude 2.0 earthquake struck 4 km ENE of Mesa, Washington on Mon, Dec 17, 1979, 3:56 PM PST (23:56 UTC), 4 km (2 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.9 18 km W of Othello, 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
2.0 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1979-12-17 23:56:54 UTC
Depth
3.8 km (2.4 mi), shallow
Epicenter
46.593° N, 118.950° 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 1.1 km horizontally, 0.9 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.08
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
167°
Stations used
9

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 17 in the 60 days after this one and 16 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.95 km ENE of Mesa, Washington · 17077 days ago · 4 km deep · 1 km away
  2. 1.73 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17076 days ago · 0 km deep · 62 km away
  3. 1.83 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17076 days ago · 1 km deep · 62 km away
  4. 2.03 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17073 days ago · 0 km deep · 62 km away
  5. 1.72 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17073 days ago · 0 km deep · 62 km away
  6. 1.63 km NE of Royal City, Washington · 17073 days ago · 3 km deep · 62 km away
  7. 1.85 km N of Royal City, Washington · 17073 days ago · 0 km deep · 66 km away
  8. 1.73 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17073 days ago · 0 km deep · 63 km away
  9. 1.64 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17072 days ago · 1 km deep · 63 km away
  10. 1.73 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17072 days ago · 0 km deep · 63 km away
  11. 1.53 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17072 days ago · 0 km deep · 62 km away
  12. 1.618 km SW of Othello, Washington · 17072 days ago · 0 km deep · 34 km away
  13. 2.918 km W of Othello, Washington · 17062 days ago · 0 km deep · 43 km away
  14. 1.511 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 17039 days ago · 4 km deep · 50 km away
  15. 1.513 km NNE of West Richland, Washington · 17031 days ago · 0 km deep · 32 km away
  16. 1.58 km WNW of Odessa, Washington · 17028 days ago · 13 km deep · 86 km away
  17. 1.86 km ENE of Mesa, Washington · 17023 days ago · 3 km deep · 1 km away

Before

  1. 1.55 km ENE of Mesa, Washington · 17081 days ago · 4 km deep · 1 km away
  2. 1.63 km ENE of Royal City, Washington · 17085 days ago · 0 km deep · 60 km away
  3. 1.83 km ENE of Royal City, Washington · 17092 days ago · 2 km deep · 60 km away
  4. 2.66 km ENE of Royal City, Washington · 17097 days ago · 0 km deep · 60 km away
  5. 1.83 km NE of Royal City, Washington · 17103 days ago · 4 km deep · 61 km away
  6. 1.55 km NE of Royal City, Washington · 17104 days ago · 0 km deep · 62 km away
  7. 3.45 km NE of Royal City, Washington · 17104 days ago · 3 km deep · 61 km away
  8. 2.54 km NE of Royal City, Washington · 17104 days ago · 2 km deep · 62 km away
  9. 2.64 km NE of Royal City, Washington · 17106 days ago · 2 km deep · 61 km away
  10. 1.74 km NE of Royal City, Washington · 17107 days ago · 0 km deep · 61 km away
  11. 2.85 km ENE of Royal City, Washington · 17108 days ago · 1 km deep · 60 km away
  12. 1.56 km NE of Royal City, Washington · 17109 days ago · 0 km deep · 62 km away
  13. 1.54 km ENE of Royal City, Washington · 17109 days ago · 0 km deep · 60 km away
  14. 1.84 km NE of Royal City, Washington · 17110 days ago · 5 km deep · 61 km away
  15. 2.85 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 17111 days ago · 3 km deep · 57 km away
  16. 1.55 km NE of Royal City, Washington · 17111 days ago · 2 km deep · 62 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10851558. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 4:09 PM UTC.