Washington earthquakes

M1.7 earthquake 19 km SSW of Birch Bay, Washington

A magnitude 1.7 earthquake struck 19 km SSW of Birch Bay, Washington on Sat, Aug 23, 1980, 7:02 AM PDT (14:02 UTC), 11 km (7 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.0 11 km S of Friday Harbor, Washington. This one was a foreshock.

Birch Bay 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
1.7 (Md, duration), micro
Magnitude from
Pacific Northwest Seismic Network
Local time
UTC
1980-08-23 14:02:58 UTC
Depth
10.9 km (6.8 mi), shallow
Epicenter
48.767° N, 122.877° 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 1.2 km horizontally, 3.8 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.06
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
101°
Stations used
12

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 9 in the 60 days after this one and 8 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 2.12 km NNW of Warm Beach, Washington · 16830 days ago · 29 km deep · 74 km away
  2. 1.75 km SSW of Lake McMurray, Washington · 16810 days ago · 0 km deep · 73 km away
  3. 1.611 km N of Swede Heaven, Washington · 16807 days ago · 4 km deep · 96 km away
  4. 1.521 km SE of Glacier, Washington · 16806 days ago · 23 km deep · 81 km away
  5. 2.72 km WSW of Big Lake, Washington · 16802 days ago · 15 km deep · 61 km away
  6. 2.32 km WSW of Big Lake, Washington · 16802 days ago · 15 km deep · 61 km away
  7. 2.72 km W of Big Lake, Washington · 16798 days ago · 15 km deep · 60 km away
  8. 3.011 km S of Friday Harbor, Washington · 16794 days ago · 25 km deep · 40 km away
  9. 2.45 km NE of Glacier, Washington · 16786 days ago · -1 km deep · 75 km away

Before

  1. 1.64 km WSW of Hansville, Washington · 16841 days ago · 16 km deep · 98 km away
  2. 1.74 km ENE of Six Mile, Canada · 16842 days ago · 30 km deep · 51 km away
  3. 1.57 km WNW of Anacortes, Washington · 16852 days ago · 52 km deep · 29 km away
  4. 1.59 km WNW of Orcas, Washington · 16852 days ago · 13 km deep · 22 km away
  5. 2.09 km WNW of Orcas, Washington · 16852 days ago · 18 km deep · 22 km away
  6. 1.75 km NNE of Oso, Washington · 16862 days ago · -1 km deep · 88 km away
  7. 1.92 km N of Hamilton, Washington · 16863 days ago · 3 km deep · 70 km away
  8. 1.712 km NNE of Maple Falls, Washington · 16866 days ago · 1 km deep · 70 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10086163. Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 12:01 PM UTC.