Washington earthquakes

M1.5 earthquake 18 km N of Index, Washington

A magnitude 1.5 earthquake struck 18 km N of Index, Washington on Sat, Mar 14, 1981, 11:36 PM PST (07:36 UTC), 5 km (3 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M1.6 18 km NE of May Creek, Washington. This one was a foreshock.

May Creek forecastMore in Washington

Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude
1.5 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-03-15 07:36:34 UTC
Depth
5.1 km (3.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter
47.985° N, 121.510° 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 1.4 km horizontally, 1.6 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.06
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
182°, poorly surrounded by stations
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: 31 in the 60 days after this one and 16 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.618 km NE of May Creek, Washington · 16627 days ago · 6 km deep · 1 km away
  2. 1.918 km N of Index, Washington · 16627 days ago · 5 km deep · 0 km away
  3. 2.410 km NE of Snoqualmie, Washington · 16626 days ago · 6 km deep · 46 km away
  4. 1.56 km SE of Freeland, Washington · 16626 days ago · 50 km deep · 72 km away
  5. 1.74 km WNW of Burien, Washington · 16621 days ago · 17 km deep · 86 km away
  6. 2.47 km SSE of Coupeville, Washington · 16617 days ago · 25 km deep · 87 km away
  7. 1.518 km NNE of Index, Washington · 16617 days ago · 2 km deep · 1 km away
  8. 2.24 km S of Coupeville, Washington · 16610 days ago · 25 km deep · 91 km away
  9. 2.79 km W of Entiat, Washington · 16610 days ago · 0 km deep · 94 km away
  10. 1.9Washington · 16608 days ago · 2 km deep · 77 km away
  11. 1.7Washington · 16608 days ago · 4 km deep · 1 km away
  12. 1.53 km SE of Echo Lake, Washington · 16607 days ago · 16 km deep · 45 km away
  13. 2.07 km ENE of Snoqualmie, Washington · 16607 days ago · 8 km deep · 50 km away
  14. 1.97 km ENE of Snoqualmie, Washington · 16607 days ago · 9 km deep · 50 km away
  15. 1.811 km NNE of Snoqualmie, Washington · 16604 days ago · 13 km deep · 45 km away
  16. 1.84 km SSW of Hamilton, Washington · 16597 days ago · 3 km deep · 67 km away
  17. 1.916 km NNE of May Creek, Washington · 16596 days ago · 7 km deep · 4 km away
  18. 2.43 km ENE of Sedro-Woolley, Washington · 16594 days ago · 3 km deep · 78 km away
  19. 1.56 km SSE of Alger, Washington · 16592 days ago · 10 km deep · 88 km away
  20. 2.42 km SSE of Maple Heights-Lake Desire, Washington · 16592 days ago · 17 km deep · 76 km away
  21. 1.77 km NNW of Kingston, Washington · 16587 days ago · 29 km deep · 79 km away
  22. 1.56 km NNE of Oso, Washington · 16587 days ago · 0 km deep · 48 km away
  23. 1.6Puget Sound region, Washington · 16583 days ago · 17 km deep · 88 km away
  24. 1.76 km NNE of Oso, Washington · 16580 days ago · 0 km deep · 48 km away
  25. 2.05 km NNE of Oso, Washington · 16580 days ago · 5 km deep · 46 km away
  26. 1.65 km NNE of Oso, Washington · 16580 days ago · 1 km deep · 47 km away
  27. 2.56 km NNE of Oso, Washington · 16580 days ago · 1 km deep · 47 km away
  28. 1.55 km NNE of Oso, Washington · 16579 days ago · 0 km deep · 48 km away
  29. 1.5Washington · 16578 days ago · 1 km deep · 48 km away
  30. 1.52 km SW of Roosevelt, Washington · 16576 days ago · 25 km deep · 41 km away
  31. 1.81 km SE of Enetai, Washington · 16571 days ago · 32 km deep · 92 km away

Before

  1. 3.619 km NNE of Index, Washington · 16627 days ago · 5 km deep · 1 km away
  2. 1.615 km NNE of May Creek, Washington · 16628 days ago · 8 km deep · 4 km away
  3. 2.67 km NE of Snoqualmie Pass, Washington · 16632 days ago · 7 km deep · 61 km away
  4. 2.94 km E of Cle Elum, Washington · 16636 days ago · -1 km deep · 99 km away
  5. 1.75 km E of Carnation, Washington · 16637 days ago · 15 km deep · 44 km away
  6. 2.012 km N of Concrete, Washington · 16638 days ago · -1 km deep · 76 km away
  7. 2.83 km E of Cle Elum, Washington · 16640 days ago · -1 km deep · 99 km away
  8. 1.512 km E of Acme, Washington · 16646 days ago · -1 km deep · 91 km away
  9. 1.81 km WNW of Federal Way, Washington · 16647 days ago · 15 km deep · 95 km away
  10. 2.00 km ENE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 16650 days ago · 7 km deep · 44 km away
  11. 2.02 km E of Cle Elum, Washington · 16652 days ago · -1 km deep · 99 km away
  12. 4.23 km E of Cle Elum, Washington · 16652 days ago · 3 km deep · 99 km away
  13. 1.53 km ENE of Cle Elum, Washington · 16655 days ago · 0 km deep · 98 km away
  14. 2.62 km E of Cle Elum, Washington · 16655 days ago · 5 km deep · 99 km away
  15. 1.911 km NNW of Swede Heaven, Washington · 16656 days ago · 9 km deep · 48 km away
  16. 1.63 km E of Cle Elum, Washington · 16657 days ago · 7 km deep · 99 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10104278. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 2:46 PM UTC.