M4.1 earthquake 2 km ENE of Cowiche, Washington
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck 2 km ENE of Cowiche, Washington on Tue, Dec 1, 1987, 11:12 PM PST (07:12 UTC), 17 km (11 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.3 3 km ENE of Cowiche, Washington. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.1 (Md, duration), light
- Magnitude from
- Pacific Northwest Seismic Network
- Local time
- UTC
- 1987-12-02 07:12:57 UTC
- Depth
- 17.5 km (10.9 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 46.675° N, 120.684° W
- Region
- Washington
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.1 | Md, duration | Pacific Northwest Seismic Network | Preferred · Final · ±0.04 · 13 stations |
| 3.9 | mb, body-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Reviewed · 1 stations |
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
Felt (V) at Selah and (IV) at Naches, Parker, Tieton, Waterville and Yakima. Felt in Chelan, Douglas, Grant and Yakima Counties, Washington and in Hood River County, Oregon.
From the USGS event page for uw10226498. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
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, 0.7 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.04
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 40°
- Stations used
- 46
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 14 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.33 km ENE of Cowiche, Washington · 14187 days ago · 17 km deep · 1 km away
- 2.217 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 14185 days ago · 0 km deep · 100 km away
- 1.815 km E of Mattawa, Washington · 14175 days ago · 17 km deep · 75 km away
- 2.219 km SW of Othello, Washington · 14158 days ago · 1 km deep · 100 km away
- 1.69 km SE of Bickleton, Washington · 14151 days ago · 8 km deep · 90 km away
- 1.516 km S of Prosser, Washington · 14148 days ago · 8 km deep · 99 km away
- 2.723 km ENE of Ashford, Washington · 14143 days ago · 1 km deep · 83 km away
- 1.922 km ENE of Ashford, Washington · 14143 days ago · 0 km deep · 84 km away
- 1.519 km WSW of Othello, Washington · 14137 days ago · 0 km deep · 98 km away
- 1.510 km NE of Ashford, Washington · 14136 days ago · 10 km deep · 97 km away
- 1.73 km SSE of Grandview, Washington · 14136 days ago · 12 km deep · 79 km away
- 2.13 km SSE of Grandview, Washington · 14136 days ago · 12 km deep · 79 km away
- 1.53 km S of Grandview, Washington · 14136 days ago · 11 km deep · 79 km away
- 2.14 km NE of Prosser, Washington · 14132 days ago · -1 km deep · 88 km away
Before
- 1.85 km NE of Kittitas, Washington · 14195 days ago · 7 km deep · 45 km away
- 1.77 km SSW of Desert Aire, Washington · 14197 days ago · 9 km deep · 56 km away
- 1.522 km SSE of Packwood, Washington · 14203 days ago · -1 km deep · 77 km away
- 2.05 km WNW of Quincy, Washington · 14216 days ago · 5 km deep · 87 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10226498 (also filed as usp0003av3). Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 7:20 AM UTC.