M1.5 earthquake 18 km W of Othello, Washington
A magnitude 1.5 earthquake struck 18 km W of Othello, Washington on Fri, Mar 16, 1979, 1:58 PM PST (21:58 UTC), 0 km (0 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M1.7 11 km S of Mesa, Washington. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 1.5 (md), micro
- Local time
- UTC
- 1979-03-16 21:58:36 UTC
- Depth
- -0.2 km (-0.1 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 46.804° N, 119.421° 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 0.0 km horizontally, 0.0 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.07
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 113°
- 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: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 1.711 km S of Mesa, Washington · 17338 days ago · 4 km deep · 48 km away
- 3.0Washington · 17335 days ago · 16 km deep · 81 km away
- 2.5Washington · 17335 days ago · 16 km deep · 76 km away
- 1.73 km ESE of Kittitas, Washington · 17326 days ago · 19 km deep · 74 km away
- 1.9Washington · 17318 days ago · 0 km deep · 98 km away
- 1.521 km E of Desert Aire, Washington · 17318 days ago · 3 km deep · 24 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayWashington earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10849248. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 2:54 AM UTC.