M1.5 earthquake 15 km NW of Basin City, Washington
A magnitude 1.5 earthquake struck 15 km NW of Basin City, Washington on Thu, Feb 19, 1981, 4:24 PM PST (00:24 UTC), 0 km (0 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M2.7 7 km NE of Royal City, Washington. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 1.5 (md), micro
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-02-20 00:24:01 UTC
- Depth
- -0.2 km (-0.1 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 46.677° N, 119.310° W
- Region
- Washington
- 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 0.1 km horizontally, 0.1 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.18
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 119°
- Stations used
- 9
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 2.77 km NE of Royal City, Washington · 16643 days ago · 0 km deep · 35 km away
- 1.78 km WSW of George, Washington · 16626 days ago · 0 km deep · 64 km away
- 1.619 km WSW of Highland, Washington · 16624 days ago · 7 km deep · 65 km away
- 1.88 km WSW of George, Washington · 16619 days ago · 0 km deep · 63 km away
- 1.53 km N of Ritzville, Washington · 16606 days ago · 9 km deep · 88 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayWashington earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10110378. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:35 PM UTC.