Washington earthquakes

M1.5 earthquake 18 km NNE of Ashford, Washington

A magnitude 1.5 earthquake struck 18 km NNE of Ashford, Washington on Sat, Sep 12, 1981, 10:03 AM PDT (17:03 UTC), 9 km (6 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M1.6 2 km SSW of Parkland, Washington. This one was a foreshock.

Carbonado forecastMore in Washington

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

The earthquake

Magnitude
1.5 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-09-12 17:03:16 UTC
Depth
8.9 km (5.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter
46.917° N, 121.938° W
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty
About 0.3 km horizontally
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.07
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
61°
Stations used
23

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 16 in the 60 days after this one and 28 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.62 km SSW of Parkland, Washington · 16443 days ago · 53 km deep · 46 km away
  2. 1.73 km ENE of Union Hill-Novelty Hill, Washington · 16433 days ago · -1 km deep · 86 km away
  3. 1.91 km S of Hobart, Washington · 16431 days ago · 1 km deep · 54 km away
  4. 1.82 km S of Mercer Island, Washington · 16430 days ago · 0 km deep · 74 km away
  5. 1.517 km NW of Trout Lake, Washington · 16430 days ago · 3 km deep · 91 km away
  6. 1.823 km S of Morton, Washington · 16430 days ago · 8 km deep · 68 km away
  7. 1.93 km ENE of Union Hill-Novelty Hill, Washington · 16426 days ago · 6 km deep · 87 km away
  8. 1.72 km SSE of Maplewood, Washington · 16422 days ago · 19 km deep · 69 km away
  9. 2.624 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16421 days ago · 3 km deep · 61 km away
  10. 1.66 km SSE of Thorp, Washington · 16418 days ago · 10 km deep · 99 km away
  11. 1.95 km SSE of Mineral, Washington · 16414 days ago · 19 km deep · 32 km away
  12. 1.625 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16409 days ago · 0 km deep · 60 km away
  13. 1.64 km SSE of Hobart, Washington · 16408 days ago · 9 km deep · 52 km away
  14. 1.638 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 16405 days ago · 1 km deep · 81 km away
  15. 1.92 km WSW of Wilderness Rim, Washington · 16397 days ago · 18 km deep · 58 km away
  16. 1.720 km S of Morton, Washington · 16389 days ago · 8 km deep · 65 km away

Before

  1. 2.423 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16448 days ago · -1 km deep · 61 km away
  2. 2.44 km WSW of Chico, Washington · 16448 days ago · 13 km deep · 97 km away
  3. 1.623 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16448 days ago · -1 km deep · 62 km away
  4. 2.024 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16449 days ago · 3 km deep · 61 km away
  5. 1.521 km NE of Ashford, Washington · 16451 days ago · 6 km deep · 7 km away
  6. 1.938 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 16452 days ago · -1 km deep · 82 km away
  7. 1.637 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 16452 days ago · -1 km deep · 82 km away
  8. 2.31 km SSE of Lakeland North, Washington · 16452 days ago · 7 km deep · 52 km away
  9. 1.638 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 16453 days ago · 0 km deep · 81 km away
  10. 1.938 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 16455 days ago · -1 km deep · 82 km away
  11. 1.724 km S of Morton, Washington · 16455 days ago · 3 km deep · 68 km away
  12. 1.924 km S of Morton, Washington · 16456 days ago · 3 km deep · 68 km away
  13. 1.56 km S of Morton, Washington · 16456 days ago · 4 km deep · 53 km away
  14. 1.638 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 16457 days ago · 0 km deep · 82 km away
  15. 1.838 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 16457 days ago · 0 km deep · 82 km away
  16. 1.524 km ENE of Ashford, Washington · 16458 days ago · -1 km deep · 16 km away
  17. 1.637 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 16459 days ago · 1 km deep · 82 km away
  18. 1.914 km NE of Snoqualmie, Washington · 16461 days ago · 4 km deep · 79 km away
  19. 2.12 km WNW of Home, Washington · 16463 days ago · 22 km deep · 76 km away
  20. 2.023 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16463 days ago · 5 km deep · 61 km away

Earthquakes todayWashington earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10117308. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 3:09 PM UTC.