Hi All. It seems that Spokane, Washington may not be the only place in Washington that has earthquakes that at times offer a logical explanation and at other times they don’t.

January, February, March 1955. Eastern Washington. Othello. This occurred again in Nov. 1987 with nearly 200 quakes.

This took place in January, February and March of 1955. A 10-12 square mile farmland area was shaken by nearly 200 shocks during this period, causing farm towers to sway, cracking walls, and shifting pictures on walls. Geologists reported the disturbances were caused by shifting subterranean rock due to the weight of irrigation water. The ground water volume has been rising steadily since this vast area, formerly an arid desert region, was opened to farming by giant irrigation projects.

This took place in 1987. Although never previously noted near Spokane, earthquake swarm activity; defined as a cluster of small close-together earthquakes without a very sizable mainshock; has previously been seen in eastern Washington. One notable swarm occurred near Othello and lasted nearly a year. It began in November of 1987 and included about 200 located earthquakes, about 20 of them larger than magnitude 2.0. The largest event in the Othello sequence was magnitude 3.3.

July 15, 18, other shocks also reported. Series of sharp shocks, similar to those reported from Othello during January, February, and March, felt at Soap Lake, Wash. (Grant County). No reason was given as to the cause of the quakes. Soap Lake is a little less then 40 miles north of Othello. The cause of these quakes could be the same as those at Othello.

Events felt only in and around Spokane occurred in 1915, 1920, 1922, 1941, 1942, 1948, 1952, 1961 and 1962. In some instances the shaking was accompanied by explosion-like noises, and in some cases several events close together in time were reported. No extended sequence like the current activity is known. Take Care…Don in creepy town