All earthquakesWashington

Washington earthquakes in 1939

1 earthquake of magnitude 2.5 or more was located in Washington in 1939. The largest: M6.1 Puget Sound region, Washington, Nov 12, 1939.

From the USGS catalog. Times are local to each quake.

19381940

Map

Where every quake of 1939 was located in Washington. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

Every quake of 1939

Magnitude 2.5 and up, newest first.

Month by month

Counted by UTC date, which is how the catalog files them.

MonthQuakesLargestWhere
January 19390
February 19390
March 19390
April 19390
May 19390
June 19390
July 19390
August 19390
September 19390
October 19390
November 193916.1Puget Sound region, Washington
December 19390

What this means

The catalog is only as complete as the instruments of the time. Worldwide coverage of magnitude 5 and up dates from the 1960s, and of 4.5 from the 1990s; earlier years hold the large quakes and the ones near a station, so a low count in an early year means fewer instruments, not a quiet earth.

By year

Every year the USGS catalog covers.

Nearby

Washington nowWorldwide in 1939

Sources

Earthquakes, magnitudes, depths, shaking estimates and felt reports from the U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program, read from its live feeds and its catalog back to 1900. Tsunami messages from NOAA’s tsunami warning centers.