Washington earthquakes

M1.6 earthquake 18 km SW of Othello, Washington

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake struck 18 km SW of Othello, Washington on Wed, Dec 26, 1979, 5:39 PM PST (01:39 UTC), 0 km (0 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.9 18 km W of Othello, Washington. This one was a foreshock.

Othello 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
1.6 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1979-12-27 01:39:28 UTC
Depth
0.2 km (0.1 mi), shallow
Epicenter
46.709° N, 119.356° 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 0.4 km horizontally
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.13
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
97°
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: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 17 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 2.918 km W of Othello, Washington · 17063 days ago · 0 km deep · 11 km away
  2. 1.715 km S of Ellensburg, Washington · 17043 days ago · 12 km deep · 90 km away
  3. 2.614 km SSE of Harrah, Washington · 17041 days ago · 4 km deep · 96 km away
  4. 1.511 km ESE of Royal City, Washington · 17040 days ago · 4 km deep · 19 km away
  5. 1.513 km NNE of West Richland, Washington · 17032 days ago · 0 km deep · 34 km away
  6. 1.58 km WNW of Odessa, Washington · 17029 days ago · 13 km deep · 83 km away
  7. 1.86 km ENE of Mesa, Washington · 17024 days ago · 3 km deep · 34 km away

Before

  1. 1.53 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17073 days ago · 0 km deep · 31 km away
  2. 1.73 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17073 days ago · 0 km deep · 31 km away
  3. 1.64 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17074 days ago · 1 km deep · 32 km away
  4. 1.73 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17074 days ago · 0 km deep · 31 km away
  5. 1.85 km N of Royal City, Washington · 17074 days ago · 0 km deep · 34 km away
  6. 1.63 km NE of Royal City, Washington · 17074 days ago · 3 km deep · 31 km away
  7. 1.72 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17075 days ago · 0 km deep · 31 km away
  8. 2.03 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17075 days ago · 0 km deep · 31 km away
  9. 1.83 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17077 days ago · 1 km deep · 31 km away
  10. 1.73 km NNE of Royal City, Washington · 17077 days ago · 0 km deep · 31 km away
  11. 1.95 km ENE of Mesa, Washington · 17078 days ago · 4 km deep · 34 km away
  12. 2.04 km ENE of Mesa, Washington · 17082 days ago · 4 km deep · 34 km away
  13. 1.55 km ENE of Mesa, Washington · 17082 days ago · 4 km deep · 35 km away
  14. 1.63 km ENE of Royal City, Washington · 17086 days ago · 0 km deep · 28 km away
  15. 3.11 km NE of Gleed, Washington · 17090 days ago · 7 km deep · 95 km away
  16. 1.83 km ENE of Royal City, Washington · 17093 days ago · 2 km deep · 29 km away
  17. 2.66 km ENE of Royal City, Washington · 17098 days ago · 0 km deep · 29 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10851698. Read Wed, Sep 23, 2026, 7:24 PM UTC.