Washington earthquakes

M1.6 earthquake Washington

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake struck in Washington on Wed, Sep 5, 1979, 11:42 PM PDT (06:42 UTC), 3 km (2 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M1.9 2 km E of Issaquah, Washington. This one was a foreshock.

Issaquah 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
1979-09-06 06:42:02 UTC
Depth
3.4 km (2.1 mi), shallow
Epicenter
47.527° N, 121.988° 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 0.0 km horizontally, 0.2 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.07
Depth from
Operator assigned
Station coverage gap
129°
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: 11 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.92 km E of Issaquah, Washington · 17184 days ago · 3 km deep · 1 km away
  2. 2.02 km ESE of Belfair, Washington · 17181 days ago · 1 km deep · 61 km away
  3. 2.12 km ESE of Quilcene, Washington · 17178 days ago · 48 km deep · 71 km away
  4. 1.62 km NNE of Klahanie, Washington · 17176 days ago · 4 km deep · 7 km away
  5. 1.52 km E of Belfair, Washington · 17174 days ago · -1 km deep · 61 km away
  6. 2.16 km SW of Clinton, Washington · 17161 days ago · 25 km deep · 56 km away
  7. 2.123 km NNW of Hoodsport, Washington · 17155 days ago · 45 km deep · 95 km away
  8. 1.51 km W of Chico, Washington · 17150 days ago · 25 km deep · 57 km away
  9. 1.53 km S of Kingston, Washington · 17149 days ago · 53 km deep · 47 km away
  10. 2.40 km WSW of Tulalip Bay, Washington · 17130 days ago · 29 km deep · 62 km away
  11. 2.617 km SSE of Carbonado, Washington · 17126 days ago · 9 km deep · 65 km away

Before

  1. 2.12 km E of Issaquah, Washington · 17185 days ago · 3 km deep · 1 km away
  2. 1.612 km NE of Snoqualmie, Washington · 17186 days ago · 13 km deep · 22 km away
  3. 1.5Washington · 17212 days ago · 13 km deep · 89 km away
  4. 1.77 km E of Carnation, Washington · 17212 days ago · 11 km deep · 20 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10850583. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 11:48 PM UTC.