United States Earthquakes, 1959

By Robert A. Eppley and William K. Cloud, 1961, U.S. Department of Commerce, Coast and Geodetic Survey, U.S. Government Printing Office, pp. 56-59.
¸WASHINGTON AND OREGON
(120th MERIDIAN OR PACIFIC STANDARD TIME)

January 20: 23:15 (about). Milton-Free-
	water, Oreg. V. Slow, 8-10 second shock
	awakened many in community; frightened few;
	pictures swayed.  Milton-Freewater area is about
	12 miles south of Walla Walla, Wash. In the
	Walla Walla area, a number of persons at College
	Place and the State Line district felt tremors;
	house rattled and shook at State Line; awakened
	one.
July 11: 00:02*. Felt at Coulee City and
	Deep Lake, Wash. At Deep Lake (about 5 miles
	southwest of Coulee City); house shaken; rolling,
	rumbling motion,
July 11: 10:10. Deep Lake, Wash. IV.
	Felt by caretaker and by person on lake in boat;
	felt pressure on bottom of boat. Lake water
	visibly disturbed.
July 11: 15:00. Deep Lake, Wash. Boom-
	ing sound heard.
July 14: 11:00. Deep Lake, Wash. Rumble
	in Sun Lake State Park heard at Deep Lake.
	Water level in Deep Lake raised 6 inches in 7
	days (lake 135 feet deep). Bureau of Reclama-
	tion aquifers Nos. 5 and 6 in nearby areas showed
	drop of 1-2 feet in water level.
August 4:  15:53:30*.  Epicenter 45 degrees 41' north,
	north, 122 degrees 16' west, about 13 miles northeast of
	Portland, Oreg., in Washington, S. Felt over a
	limited area of Washington and Oregon, approxi-
	mately 600 square miles. Maximum intensity
	(damage) V. At Fairview, Oreg., felt by several
	in community. (some outdoors). Small objects
	shifted; pendulum clock facing south stopped.
	Hard jolting motion. At Portland, felt by many,
	Sharp, explosivelike motion. Bookcases swayed;
	several reams of paper thrown northward to floor.
	Sharply felt in large downtown buildings; court-
	house swayed back and forth. Intensity (dam-
	age) IV in Oregon; Cascade Locks, Clackamas,
	Corbett, Gresham, and Troutdale; in Washington
	about IV to III at Camas and Washougal; also
	felt at Oregon City and Tigard, Oreg.
	  August 5: 19:44:35* (main shock), 20:36:10*.
	Washington.  Epicenter 47 degrees 49' north, 120
	degrees 00' west, near Chelan and Chelan Falls, S. Felt
	over a large area of Washington, approximately
	25,000 square miles. (See map, page 57.) Max-
	imum intensity (damage) VI. Minor damage at
	several localities; rock slides from steep hills
	near Chelan and Waterville.
 1959 Isoseismal Map
  INTENSITY (DAMAGE) VI:
   Brief (about 10 miles up-stream from Arden-
	voir). Furniture bounced off  floor.  Sounded
	like tons of dynamite exploding in vicinity of
	Mount Tyee foothills. Second shock very light.
   Chelan.-Felt by all and  frightened  many.
	Damage slight. Rocks fell from hills, 200 cubic
	yards at one place. Part of chimney fell; bricks
	fell; slight damage reported in office. Dishes
	broken. Two major shocks felt, plus two slight
	shocks after 20:45.
  Douglas.-Felt by all; frightened many. Dam-
	age slight. Small objects shifted and over-
	turned; knickknacks fell. "These two shocks
	were the most severe that we have felt since
	moving here in 1935."
  Entiat.-Felt by all and frightened few in
	community. Damage slight. Small objects shifted;
	knickknacks felt
  Hanson.--Felt by all; frightened many  in
	community. Small objects shifted.
  Orondo.-Felt by all; frightened few. Chim-
	neys cracked. Damage  slight.  Canned  goods
	fell from store shelves; knickknacks fell.
  Waterville.-Felt by all and frightened many
	in community. Rocks fell from steep canyon
	walls onto highway. Chimneys cracked; many
	bricks loosened and fell from church and 2-story
	houses: one large brick church suffered extensive
	inside plaster damage. "Probably the most
	severe shock felt in Waterville." First  shock
	was followed by two smaller but quite definite
	shocks; third shock barely noticeable.
  INTENSITY  (DAMAGE) V:  Aeneas, 
	Azwell (also felt shock at 20:36:10*), Baring,
   	Cashmere (also felt shocks at 20:00 and 20:36:10*,
	heavy), Creston, Davenport, Electric City (also
	20:36:10*), Grand Coulee (also felt shock at
	20:36:10*), Grotto, Hartline, Hunters, Hyak,
	Keller, Leavenworth, Lester, Methow (also felt
	shock at 20:36:10*), Monitor, Moses Lake (three
	shocks), North Bend and 7, 15, and 18 miles
	east of, Palisades, Pateros, Peshastin, Preston,
	Randle, Skykomish, Steiliko Ranger Station
	(near Entiat), Warden, Wauconda, Wenatchee,
	Winthrop, and Withrow.
  INTENSITY (DAMAGE) IV: Almira (also felt
	shock at 20:36:10*), Beverly (also felt shock at
	20:36:10*), Black Diamond, Brewster, Bridge-
	port, Carbonado, Carlton, Chesaw, Cle Elum,
	Colbert, Colfax, Conconully, Cougar, Coulee
	City, Coulee Dam (second shock also felt), Des
	Moines, Dryden (also felt shock at 20:36:10*),
	Elbe, Eureka, Fall City (two shocks felt), Farmer
	(both shocks felt), Harrington, Hatton (two
	shocks felt), Hooper, Inchelium, Limona, Laurier,
	Lowell, Loomis, Lucerne, Malaga, Malott, Mans-
	field, Marcus (also felt shock at 20:36:10*),
	Marengo, Marlin (shocks also felt at 20:36:10*
	and about 21:00), Mazama, Mold (second shock
	also felt), Monroe, Monse, Naches and 20 miles
	northwest of, Okanogan (second shock also felt),
	Olympia (also felt shock at 20:36:10*), Omak,
	Orillia, Othello, Packwood, Parkland, Port
	Orchard, Prescott; (also felt shock at 20:36:10*),
	Puyallup (also felt shock at 20:36:10*), Ralston
	(shock also felt in morning), Redmond, Redondo,
	Retsil, Ritzville, Ronald, Smyrna, Snohomish,
	Snoqualmie, Spokane, Stratford, Sultan, Tacoma
	(also felt shock at 20:36:10*), Thorp, Tonasket,
	Twisp, Wellpinit, Wilson Creek, and Winchester.
  INTENSITY (DAMAGE) I To III: Alder Dam,
	Amboy, Ashford, Auburn, Bellevue, Cedar Falls,
	Cusick, Darrington, Dayton, Dockton, Duvall,
	Easton, Ellensburg, Elmer City (three shocks felt
	during hour), Ephrata (5 miles north of), Govan,
	Index, Issaquah, Kettle Falls, Lacrosse, Lakebay,
	Lakewood, Malo, Marshall, Mayfield, Molson
	(6 miles west of), Nighthawk, Odessa (both
	shocks felt), Olalla, Orient, Orting, Portige, Port
	Gamble, Quincy, Ravensdale, Richmond Beach,
	Riverdale, Roslyn, Ruff, Seattle, Silverdale, Soap
	Lake, South Bend, South Prairie, Springdale,
	Spangle, Startup, Tieton, Tillicum, Touchet,
	Vail, and Wilbur.
August 17: See "Western Mountain Region"
	for shocks felt in Washington and Oregon on
	August 17 (Hebgen Lake, Montana earthquake).
August 18: 10:08. Chelan, Wash. Felt by
	some persons.
October 14: 13:35:39*. Washington. Epi-
	center 47 degrees 51' north, 121 degrees 58' west,
	near Monroe on Mount Si Fault, S. V. Felt over
	an area of approximately 2,800 square miles,
	principally in the area on the east side of Puget Sound.
	Felt by all at Monroe where small objects and furnishings
	shifted; trees, bushes shaken moderately. Felt
	by all at Sultan; windows, doors, and dishes
	rattled. Felt by all at Pinehurst where small
	objects shifted; doors swung east. Intensity
	(damage) IV at Carnation, Elbe, Everett (Paine
	Air Force Base), Granite Falls, Lake Stevens,
	Longmire, Maple Valley, Marysville, Mukilteo
	(about 6 miles west of), North Bend Ranger Sta-
	tion (North Bend), Oso, Preston, Seattle, Startup,
	and Snohomish. Intensity (damage) I to III at
	Alderwood Manor, Bothell, Bremerton, Burley,
	Duvall, Retsil, Sedro Wooley, and Silvana.
November 18: 15:48:51*, 20:38:08*. Mount
	Vernon and Anacortes areas, Washington. Slight
	shocks felt.
November 23: 10:15:25 Washington. Epi-
	center 46 degrees 40' north, 121 degrees 45' west, Near Long-
	mire, S. V. Felt over an area of approximately
	1,000 square. miles. At Ashford, rapid, brief;
	felt by and awakened many. Felt by all and
	awakened many at Longmire; windows and doors
	rattled; frame creaked. Intensity (damage) IV
	at Randle. Intensity (damage) I to III at Alder,
	Elbe (2 1/2 miles east of), and Packwood.
December 11: 22:24:17*. Epicenter 48 degrees 44'
	north 123 degrees 15' west, northwest of Orcas Island,
	S. V. Felt over an area of approximately 8,000
	square miles of northwestern Washington. Very
	slight damage reported: windows broken at Port
	Angeles; window cracked at Marysville.
  INTENSITY (DAMAGE) V:
   Anacortes.-Rapid, north-south motion felt
	by all.
   Blanchard.-Felt by and awakened all. Small
	objects shifted.
   Burlington.-Small objects and furnishings
	shifted.
   East Sound (Orcas Island).-Frightened all in
	community. Pendulum clock facing north
	stopped: small objects and furnishings shifted;
	one cup fell from shelf.
   Friday Harbor.-Felt by all; frightened few.
   Hoodsport.-Felt by several. Small objects
	shifted.
   Joyce.-Awakened many and frightened few
	in community; felt outdoors by some.
   La Conner.-Felt by all; awakened and
	frightened few.
   Langley.-Felt by many (some outdoors);
	awakened and frightened few. Small objects
	shifted.
   Lopez.-Felt by and awakened all.
   Marietta.-Felt by and awakened many.
   Marysville.-Window cracked.
   Orcas Island.-Sharply felt. Loud bang and
	boom at beginning of shock. Felt throughout
	the San Juan Islands.
   Port Angeles.-Felt by several; awakened and
	frightened few. Windows broken.
   Roche Harbor.-Felt by several; awakened few;
	frightened all in home. Trees, bushes shaken
	slightly.
   Sequim.-Felt by several; awakened all.
   Sinclair Island (Urban).-Felt by and awakened
	many. Rapid, jolting motion; loud blast-
	like earth noises.
   Waldron (on Waldron Island).-Felt by sev-
	eral (some outdoors); frightened few. Small
	objects shifted. Jolting, south-north motion;
	loud frightening rumble.
  INTENSITY (DAMAGE) IV: Blaine, Bow, Brem-
	erton, Clallam Bay, Clearlake, Clinton, Clipper,
	Concrete, Coupeville, Darrington, Decatur, Deer
	Harbor, Des Moines, East Stanwood, Ferndale,
	Glacier, Greenbank, Hansville, Lakewood, Long-
	branch, Lynden, Neah Bay, Oakville, Olga,
	Pinehurst, Port Gamble, Port Ludlow, Rockport,
	Seattle, Sedro Woolloy, Sekiu, Silvana, Shaw
	Island, Startup, Sumas, Van Zandt, Westsound,
	and Wickersham (vicinity of).
  INTENSITY (DAMAGE) I TO III: Bellingham,
	Carlsborg, Custer, Everett (near Paine Air Force
	Base), Everson, Fall City, Granite Falls, Index,
	Marblemount, Mount Vernon, Nordland, Oso,
	Port Townsend, Raymond, and Vashon. Also
	reported felt at Victoria, B. C., Canada.



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