Historic earthquakes (M5+) felt in Washington

1877 Portland

M5.3 shallow earthquake felt over an area of 48,000 square miles. Maximum MMI VII.

One report indicated that the earthquake was felt on Puget Sound and at points down the Columbia River.

References:  U.S. Geological Survey   Information Circular 85 

1880 Puget Sound

Maximum MMI VII. Felt from Victoria to Portland. Chimney damage was reported.

References:  Information Circular 85   Puget Sound Weekly Argus 1880 

1882 Puget Sound earthquake

M5.8 earthquake with a maximum MMI VI.

This severe earthquake threw down two chimneys, broke crockery, and stopped clocks at Olympia, at the southern end of Puget Sound. Large trees swayed back and forth, the ground moved in a wavy motion, and people were thrown from their feet. The quake was also felt at Fort Canby, Washington; Portland, Oregon; and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

References:  Information Circular 85   U.S. Geological Survey   Pacific Northwest Seismic Network 

1891 Hurricane Ridge earthquake

M5 earthquake with a maximum MMI VI.

Two shocks of an earthquake lasting about five seconds each were felt. No damage was reported. Seismic waves came from the southeast to northwest. One building swayed so much that the elevator bumped against the side of the shaft. Water in Lake Washington surged onto the beach two feet above the mark of the highest water and eight feet above lake stage on that date. There were probably three separate events, one in Lake Washington, one on the Puget Sound side of Seattle, and a third in the vicinity of Tacoma. These were probably subaerial or submarine landslide-generated tsunamis.

References:  Information Circular 85   NOAA   The Seattle Post-Intelligencer 1891 

1893 Southeastern Washington

M4.7 shallow earthquake felt over an area of 21,000 square miles with a maximum MMI VII.

References:  Information Circular 85   The Dalles Daily Chronicle 1893 

1896 Salish Sea earthquake

M5.7 earthquake with a maximum MMI VII.

References:  Information Circular 85   The Seattle Post-Intelligencer 1896 

1904 Olympic Peninsula

M5.3 earthquake felt over an area of 50,000 square miles with a maximum MMI V.

References:  Information Circular 85   U.S. Geological Survey 

1909 San Juan Islands earthquake

M6 deep earthquake felt over an area of 58,000 square miles. Maximum MMI VII. There were damage reports of cracked chimneys, fallen chimneys, and broken windows.

References:  Information Circular 85   U.S. Geological Survey 

1915 North Cascades

M5.6 earthquake felt over an area of 77,000 square miles with a maximum MMI V.

References:  Information Circular 85   U.S. Geological Survey 

1918 Vancouver Island

M7.0 shallow earthquake felt over an area of 650,000 square miles with a maximum MMI VIII.

References:  Information Circular 85   U.S. Geological Survey 

Selected further reading:  Denison, 1919   Cassidy and others, 1988 

1920 Puget Sound

M5.5 earthquake felt over an area of 70,000 square miles with a maximum MMI VI.

References:  Information Circular 85   U.S. Geological Survey 

1932 Central Cascades

M5.2 shallow earthquake felt over an area of 41,000 square miles. Maximum MMI VI.

References:  Information Circular 85   U.S. Geological Survey 

Selected further reading:  Bradford and Waters, 1934 

1936 State Line earthquake

M6.1 shallow earthquake felt over an area of 105,000 square miles. Maximum MMI VII.

There were damage reports of rotated headstones, moved objects, cracked plaster, and collapsed chimneys as a result of this quake.

References:  Information Circular 85   U.S. Geological Survey 

Selected further reading:  Brown, 1937   Brocher and Sherrod, 2018 

1939 Bremerton earthquake

M5.8 deep earthquake felt over an area of 60,000 square miles. Maximum MMI VII.

There were reports of fallen/twisted chimneys, cracked masonry, concrete, plaster, some fallen plaster, broken windows, and power outages. The damage from this earthquake was considered slight to significant.

References:  Information Circular 85   U.S. Geological Survey 

Selected further reading:  Coombs and Barksdale, 1942   Wiest and others, 2007 

1945 North Bend earthquake

M5.7 earthquake felt over an area of 50,000 square miles. Maximum MMI VII.

There was reported damage, including: cracked plaster and chimneys, fallen bricks and chimneys, broken windows and town water main, damage to seams and joints. One person was struck on the head by a falling brick.

References:  Information Circular 85   U.S. Geological Survey 

1946 Olympia earthquake

M5.8 shallow earthquake that was felt over an area of 70,000 square miles. Maximum MMI VII.

There were $250,000 in damages. This included plaster and cornice damage, and a few instances of major damage, though most was minor.

References:  Information Circular 85   U.S. Geological Survey 

Selected further reading:  Barksdale and Coombs, 1946   Wiest and others, 2007 

1946 Vancouver Island

M7.4 shallow earthquake that was felt over an area of 1,096,000 square miles. Maximum MMI VIII.

References:  Information Circular 85   U.S. Geological Survey 

Selected further reading:  Rogers and Hasewaga, 1978   Slawson and Savage, 1979 

1949 Olympia earthquake

M6.8 deep earthquake felt over an area of 594,000 square miles. Maximum MMI VIII.

Property damage in Olympia, Seattle, and Tacoma was estimated at $25 million; eight people were killed; and many were injured. Several structures were condemned, including two schools and a church at Centralia, south of Olympia; a junior high school at Auburn, northeast of Tacoma; and a library at Chehalis, near Centralia. School buildings in widely separated towns were damaged seriously. Water spouted from cracks that formed in the ground at Centralia, Longview, and Seattle. One new spring developed on a farm at Forest. Downed chimneys and walls were reported from towns throughout the area.

References:  Information Circular 85   U.S. Geological Survey   NOAA 

Suggested further reading:  Baker and Langston, 1987   Chleborad, 1994   Ichinose and others, 2006   Wiest and others, 2007 

1949 Haida Gwaii

M8 shallow earthquake felt over an area of 2,220,000 square miles. Maximum MMI IV in Washington.

Widely felt over a large area of western North America; this was Canada's largest and one of the world's greatest earthquakes. In the United States, this earthquake was felt throughout Southeastern Alaska and in the Puget Sound area of Washington.

References:  Information Circular 85   U.S. Geological Survey 

Selected further reading:  Coulomb, 1952   Bostwick, 1984 

1959 North Cascades

M5.5 shallow earthquake felt over an area of 64,000 square miles. Maximum MMI VI.

References:  Information Circular 85   Anacortes American 1959 

1959 Hebgen Lake, Montana

M7.3 shallow earthquake felt over an area of 1,586,000 square miles. Maximum MMI III in Washington.

Felt as far as Seattle, Washington, to the west.

References:  Information Circular 85   U.S. Geological Survey 

Selected further reading:  Witkind and others, 1962   Ryall, 196 2  USGS Professional Paper 435   Doser, 1985 

1962 Portland

M5.2 shallow earthquake felt over an area of 51,000 square miles. Maximum MMI VII in Washington.

References:  Information Circular 85   U.S. Geological Survey 

Selected further reading:  Dehlinger and others, 1963 

1965 Puget Sound earthquake

M6.7 deep earthquake felt over an area of 500,000 square miles. Maximum MMI VII.

This earthquake caused about $12.5 million in property damage and killed seven people. This shock was characterized by a rather large area of MM intensity VII and small pockets of MM intensity VIII in Seattle and suburbs and southeast of Seattle, in Issaquah. Pockets of high earthquake intensity, as typified by damage such as fallen chimneys, almost always were associated with variations in the local geology. Chimneys were damaged extensively in West Seattle, and two schools were damaged severely. The low-lying and filled areas along the Duwamish River and its mouth settled, causing considerable building damage.

References:  Information Circular 85   U.S. Geological Survey 

Selected further reading:  Langston and Blum, 1977   Ihnen and Hadley, 1986   Wiest and others, 2007 

1976 Gulf Islands

M5.1 deep earthquake felt over an area Light shaking felt from the San Juan Islands to Bellingham. Maximum MMI of IV.

References:  U.S. Geological Survey 

1980 Mount St. Helens earthquake

M5.7 shallow earthquake occurred just prior to the eruption. The maximum MMI was V.

An earthquake occurred at 15:32 UTC, only seconds before the explosion that began the eruption of Mount St. Helens volcano. The sound from the explosion and the vibratory effects from the earthquake were inseparable, resulting in a felt area that was based on both.

References:  U.S. Geological Survey  

Selected further reading:  Qamar and others, 1983   Kanamori and others, 1984   Main, 1987 

1981 South Cascades

M5.2 shallow earthquake that was felt over an area of 104,000 square miles. Maximum MMI VII.

There was slight damage (VI) reported at Ariel, Carrolls, Graham, Kapowsin, and Grays River. The shaking was felt from northern California to southern British Columbia.

References:  Information Circular 85   U.S. Geological Survey 

Selected further reading:  Grant and others, 1984 

1983 Borah Peak, Idaho

M6.9 shallow earthquake that was felt over an area 800,000 square miles. Maximum MMI IV in Washington.

The Borah Peak earthquake is the largest ever recorded in Idaho - both in terms of magnitude and in amount of property damage. The shaking from this earthquake was also felt in parts in Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, and in the Provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan, Canada.

References:  Information Circular 85   U.S. Geological Survey 

Selected further reading:  Doser and Smith, 1985   Scott and others, 1985 

1996 near Duvall

M5.4 shallow earthquake was felt from Tacoma to Mt. Vernon. The Maximum MMI VII near the epicenter.

Two people were injured and slight damage was reported in the epicentral area. Felt (V) at Baring, Bothell, Bremerton, Burlington, Carnation, Clinton, Hansville, Kenmore, Kingston, Kirkland, Lake Stevens, Maple Valley, Marblemount, Marysville, Mount Vernon, Pacific, Peshastin, Port Hadlock, Preston, Redmond, Redondo, Ronald, Seattle, Silverdale, Snoqualmie and Woodinville. Felt throughout western Washington, east as far as Wenatchee and south as far as Astoria and Portland, Oregon. Felt at Castlegar, Kelowna, Mission, Nelson, Penticton, Victoria and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

References:  U.S. Geological Survey 

Selected further reading:  Cassidy and others, 1997 

1999 near Elma

M5.8 shallow earthquake felt from Astoria in the south, north to the Olympics, and east to Kent. Maximum MMI V.

Seven people were injured in the Aberdeen-Satsop area and one person was injured at Olympia. Damage (VII) at Aberdeen and Montesano. Slight damage (VI) at Brady, Central Park, Cosmopolis, Elma, Hoquiam, McCleary, Ocean Shores and Shelton.

References:  U.S. Geological Survey