M1.6 earthquake 3 km WSW of Forks, Washington
A magnitude 1.6 earthquake struck 3 km WSW of Forks, Washington on Sun, Apr 12, 1981, 9:30 AM PST (17:30 UTC), 23 km (14 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M1.7 12 km WNW of Langford, Canada. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 1.6 (md), micro
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-04-12 17:30:31 UTC
- Depth
- 22.8 km (14.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 47.940° N, 124.432° 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 2.1 km horizontally, 1.7 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.04
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 174°
- Stations used
- 10
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayWashington earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10102753. Read Wed, Sep 23, 2026, 4:25 PM UTC.