M1.7 earthquake 5 km SW of Chenoweth, Oregon
A magnitude 1.7 earthquake struck 5 km SW of Chenoweth, Oregon on Fri, Dec 18, 1981, 3:18 PM PST (23:18 UTC), -1 km (0 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M1.8 2 km ENE of Amboy, Washington. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 1.7 (md), micro
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-12-18 23:18:15 UTC
- Depth
- -0.8 km (-0.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 45.591° N, 121.285° W
- Region
- Oregon
- 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, 0.5 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.15
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 115°
- Stations used
- 6
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayOregon earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10122698. Read Mon, Sep 21, 2026, 4:47 PM UTC.