Washington earthquakes

M1.7 earthquake 18 km NNE of Ashford, Washington

A magnitude 1.7 earthquake struck 18 km NNE of Ashford, Washington on Wed, Dec 23, 1981, 5:51 PM PST (01:51 UTC), 9 km (5 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M1.8 2 km WNW of Echo Lake, Washington. This one was a foreshock.

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Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude
1.7 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-12-24 01:51:34 UTC
Depth
8.6 km (5.3 mi), shallow
Epicenter
46.916° N, 121.943° 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, 0.3 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.07
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
75°
Stations used
13

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 29 in the 60 days after this one and 7 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.82 km WNW of Echo Lake, Washington · 16336 days ago · 20 km deep · 98 km away
  2. 2.02 km SW of Cottage Lake, Washington · 16335 days ago · 15 km deep · 91 km away
  3. 1.9Washington · 16335 days ago · -1 km deep · 86 km away
  4. 1.924 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16334 days ago · 5 km deep · 61 km away
  5. 1.53 km NNW of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 16334 days ago · 4 km deep · 89 km away
  6. 2.7Puget Sound region, Washington · 16334 days ago · 14 km deep · 56 km away
  7. 1.63 km ENE of Union Hill-Novelty Hill, Washington · 16332 days ago · -1 km deep · 86 km away
  8. 1.70 km NW of Normandy Park, Washington · 16331 days ago · 17 km deep · 66 km away
  9. 1.61 km SE of Bothell East, Washington · 16330 days ago · 20 km deep · 99 km away
  10. 1.86 km ESE of Bethel, Washington · 16319 days ago · 35 km deep · 77 km away
  11. 1.53 km NE of North Bend, Washington · 16318 days ago · 12 km deep · 69 km away
  12. 1.61 km S of Normandy Park, Washington · 16316 days ago · 8 km deep · 64 km away
  13. 2.925 km S of Morton, Washington · 16313 days ago · 8 km deep · 69 km away
  14. 3.223 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16313 days ago · 2 km deep · 60 km away
  15. 2.120 km S of Morton, Washington · 16309 days ago · 7 km deep · 64 km away
  16. 2.124 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16307 days ago · -1 km deep · 62 km away
  17. 2.513 km S of South Cle Elum, Washington · 16302 days ago · 0 km deep · 75 km away
  18. 1.75 km W of Seattle, Washington · 16302 days ago · 21 km deep · 84 km away
  19. 1.915 km NE of Ashford, Washington · 16299 days ago · 4 km deep · 7 km away
  20. 1.56 km W of Seattle, Washington · 16298 days ago · 23 km deep · 84 km away
  21. 1.814 km NNE of Ashford, Washington · 16297 days ago · 7 km deep · 5 km away
  22. 2.313 km SSE of Morton, Washington · 16297 days ago · 3 km deep · 56 km away
  23. 1.89 km NNW of Packwood, Washington · 16296 days ago · 2 km deep · 31 km away
  24. 1.74 km W of Wauna, Washington · 16295 days ago · 23 km deep · 77 km away
  25. 1.513 km ESE of Riverbend, Washington · 16291 days ago · 12 km deep · 60 km away
  26. 2.02 km WSW of Wilderness Rim, Washington · 16289 days ago · 18 km deep · 59 km away
  27. 1.722 km S of Morton, Washington · 16288 days ago · 9 km deep · 66 km away
  28. 2.614 km ENE of Nile, Washington · 16287 days ago · 7 km deep · 89 km away
  29. 2.124 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16286 days ago · 2 km deep · 62 km away

Before

  1. 2.732 km S of Morton, Washington · 16349 days ago · 1 km deep · 74 km away
  2. 2.024 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16349 days ago · 5 km deep · 62 km away
  3. 1.623 km S of Morton, Washington · 16350 days ago · 10 km deep · 67 km away
  4. 1.53 km W of Easton, Washington · 16360 days ago · 10 km deep · 64 km away
  5. 2.722 km S of Morton, Washington · 16366 days ago · 5 km deep · 67 km away
  6. 3.54 km NNE of Tracyton, Washington · 16371 days ago · 21 km deep · 96 km away
  7. 1.525 km ENE of Ashford, Washington · 16371 days ago · -1 km deep · 16 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10123443. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 12:09 PM UTC.