Washington earthquakes

M1.6 earthquake 18 km NNW of Bickleton, Washington

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake struck 18 km NNW of Bickleton, Washington on Fri, Jan 16, 1981, 3:50 AM PST (11:50 UTC), 16 km (10 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.3 18 km ENE of Roosevelt, Washington. This one was a foreshock.

Satus 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
1.6 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-01-16 11:50:30 UTC
Depth
15.9 km (9.9 mi), shallow
Epicenter
46.145° N, 120.410° 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 0.1 km horizontally, 0.1 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.16
Depth from
Operator assigned
Station coverage gap
139°
Stations used
11

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 1 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes todayWashington earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10094373. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 7:53 PM UTC.