M1.7 earthquake 5 km N of Waterville, Washington
A magnitude 1.7 earthquake struck 5 km N of Waterville, Washington on Sat, Dec 20, 1980, 12:33 AM PST (08:33 UTC), 2 km (2 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M1.8 23 km NNW of Leavenworth, Washington. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 1.7 (md), micro
- Local time
- UTC
- 1980-12-20 08:33:52 UTC
- Depth
- 2.4 km (1.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 47.699° N, 120.086° 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 0.6 km horizontally, 2.2 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.12
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 79°
- Stations used
- 16
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 8 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 1.823 km NNW of Leavenworth, Washington · 16704 days ago · 13 km deep · 53 km away
- 2.014 km ENE of Snoqualmie Pass, Washington · 16701 days ago · 4 km deep · 90 km away
- 1.63 km NNE of Waterville, Washington · 16684 days ago · 3 km deep · 3 km away
- 1.721 km ENE of Moses Lake, Washington · 16679 days ago · 0 km deep · 99 km away
- 1.63 km E of Cle Elum, Washington · 16657 days ago · 7 km deep · 83 km away
- 2.62 km E of Cle Elum, Washington · 16656 days ago · 5 km deep · 83 km away
- 1.53 km ENE of Cle Elum, Washington · 16655 days ago · 0 km deep · 82 km away
- 4.23 km E of Cle Elum, Washington · 16653 days ago · 3 km deep · 82 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayWashington earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10093208. Read Wed, Sep 23, 2026, 1:55 AM UTC.