Washington earthquakes

M1.8 earthquake 9 km S of Birch Bay, Washington

A magnitude 1.8 earthquake struck 9 km S of Birch Bay, Washington on Tue, Mar 5, 1985, 11:39 PM PST (07:39 UTC), 66 km (41 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M1.9 8 km ENE of Ferndale, 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
1.8 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1985-03-06 07:39:56 UTC
Depth
66.0 km (41.0 mi), shallow
Epicenter
48.831° N, 122.762° 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 0.8 km horizontally, 0.9 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.09
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
50°
Stations used
23

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 15 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.77 km ESE of Alger, Washington · 15171 days ago · 0 km deep · 46 km away
  2. 1.98 km ENE of Ferndale, Washington · 15161 days ago · 13 km deep · 21 km away
  3. 1.59 km WNW of Ault Field, Washington · 15158 days ago · 48 km deep · 51 km away
  4. 2.01 km SSE of Swede Heaven, Washington · 15152 days ago · 1 km deep · 98 km away
  5. 3.36 km WSW of Lake Cavanaugh, Washington · 15150 days ago · 11 km deep · 76 km away
  6. 1.711 km SSE of Point Roberts, Washington · 15141 days ago · 56 km deep · 19 km away
  7. 2.55 km E of Deming, Washington · 15134 days ago · 3 km deep · 46 km away
  8. 1.66 km SSW of Acme, Washington · 15129 days ago · -1 km deep · 42 km away
  9. 1.96 km ENE of Deming, Washington · 15127 days ago · 10 km deep · 47 km away
  10. 1.74 km SSW of Big Lake, Washington · 15125 days ago · 13 km deep · 64 km away
  11. 3.04 km SSW of Big Lake, Washington · 15124 days ago · 17 km deep · 64 km away
  12. 1.94 km SSW of Big Lake, Washington · 15120 days ago · 18 km deep · 64 km away
  13. 3.35 km SSW of Big Lake, Washington · 15120 days ago · 17 km deep · 64 km away
  14. 2.45 km SSW of Big Lake, Washington · 15120 days ago · 17 km deep · 64 km away
  15. 2.04 km NNW of Lake McMurray, Washington · 15120 days ago · 17 km deep · 65 km away

Before

  1. 3.13 km N of Bryant, Washington · 15176 days ago · 15 km deep · 76 km away
  2. 2.21 km SSE of Freeland, Washington · 15184 days ago · 25 km deep · 94 km away
  3. 2.72 km ENE of Silvana, Washington · 15185 days ago · 4 km deep · 80 km away
  4. 1.64 km N of Bryant, Washington · 15190 days ago · 14 km deep · 76 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10185998. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 10:51 AM UTC.