Washington earthquakes

M1.9 earthquake 5 km ENE of Mesa, Washington

A magnitude 1.9 earthquake struck 5 km ENE of Mesa, Washington on Fri, Dec 21, 1979, 9:30 AM PST (17:30 UTC), 4 km (3 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.0 3 km NNE of Royal City, 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
1.9 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1979-12-21 17:30:03 UTC
Depth
4.2 km (2.6 mi), shallow
Epicenter
46.595° N, 118.942° 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, 1.0 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.06
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
204°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
8

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 10 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.73 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17077 days ago · 0 km deep · 63 km away
  2. 1.83 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17077 days ago · 1 km deep · 63 km away
  3. 2.03 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17075 days ago · 0 km deep · 63 km away
  4. 1.72 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17075 days ago · 0 km deep · 63 km away
  5. 1.63 km NE of Royal City, Washington · 17075 days ago · 3 km deep · 62 km away
  6. 1.85 km N of Royal City, Washington · 17074 days ago · 0 km deep · 66 km away
  7. 1.73 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17074 days ago · 0 km deep · 63 km away
  8. 1.64 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17074 days ago · 1 km deep · 63 km away
  9. 1.73 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17074 days ago · 0 km deep · 63 km away
  10. 1.53 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17074 days ago · 0 km deep · 63 km away
  11. 1.618 km SW of Othello, Washington · 17073 days ago · 0 km deep · 34 km away
  12. 2.918 km W of Othello, Washington · 17064 days ago · 0 km deep · 43 km away
  13. 1.511 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 17041 days ago · 4 km deep · 51 km away
  14. 1.513 km NNE of West Richland, Washington · 17033 days ago · 0 km deep · 33 km away
  15. 1.58 km WNW of Odessa, Washington · 17029 days ago · 13 km deep · 86 km away
  16. 1.86 km ENE of Mesa, Washington · 17024 days ago · 3 km deep · 1 km away
  17. 1.53 km WNW of Umapine, Oregon · 17019 days ago · 9 km deep · 74 km away

Before

  1. 2.04 km ENE of Mesa, Washington · 17082 days ago · 4 km deep · 1 km away
  2. 1.55 km ENE of Mesa, Washington · 17082 days ago · 4 km deep · 1 km away
  3. 1.63 km ENE of Royal City, Washington · 17087 days ago · 0 km deep · 60 km away
  4. 1.83 km ENE of Royal City, Washington · 17093 days ago · 2 km deep · 61 km away
  5. 2.66 km ENE of Royal City, Washington · 17099 days ago · 0 km deep · 60 km away
  6. 1.83 km NE of Royal City, Washington · 17105 days ago · 4 km deep · 62 km away
  7. 1.55 km NE of Royal City, Washington · 17106 days ago · 0 km deep · 62 km away
  8. 3.45 km NE of Royal City, Washington · 17106 days ago · 3 km deep · 61 km away
  9. 2.54 km NE of Royal City, Washington · 17106 days ago · 2 km deep · 62 km away
  10. 2.64 km NE of Royal City, Washington · 17108 days ago · 2 km deep · 61 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10851583. Read Thu, Sep 24, 2026, 8:02 AM UTC.