All earthquakesWashington

Washington earthquakes in 1978

23 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more were located in Washington in 1978. The largest: M4.8 5 km W of Burley, Washington, Mar 11, 1978.

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

19771979

Map

Where every quake of 1978 was located in Washington. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

Every quake of 1978

Magnitude 2.5 and up, newest first.

Month by month

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

MonthQuakesLargestWhere
January 197843.33 km ENE of Manson, Washington
February 197813.127 km W of Quilcene, Washington
March 197864.85 km W of Burley, Washington
April 197813.37 km NNW of Entiat, Washington
May 197832.76 km SE of Shelton, Washington
June 197833.66 km NNW of Nile, Washington
July 19780
August 197813.27 km SW of Brinnon, Washington
September 19780
October 197823.110 km NNW of Mansfield, Washington
November 19780
December 197824.24 km NE of Fall City, Washington

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 1978

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.