Washington earthquakes

M1.9 earthquake 19 km NNE of Index, Washington

A magnitude 1.9 earthquake struck 19 km NNE of Index, Washington on Sat, Sep 19, 1981, 3:33 AM PDT (10:33 UTC), 2 km (1 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.2 9 km N of Entiat, Washington. This one was a foreshock.

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Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude
1.9 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-09-19 10:33:18 UTC
Depth
2.1 km (1.3 mi), shallow
Epicenter
47.989° N, 121.490° 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
±0.10
Depth from
Operator assigned
Station coverage gap
128°
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: 12 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.77 km S of Oso, Washington · 16436 days ago · -1 km deep · 40 km away
  2. 1.73 km ENE of Union Hill-Novelty Hill, Washington · 16433 days ago · -1 km deep · 50 km away
  3. 1.91 km S of Hobart, Washington · 16431 days ago · 1 km deep · 74 km away
  4. 1.82 km S of Mercer Island, Washington · 16430 days ago · 0 km deep · 74 km away
  5. 1.93 km ENE of Union Hill-Novelty Hill, Washington · 16426 days ago · 6 km deep · 50 km away
  6. 1.82 km ENE of Indianola, Washington · 16425 days ago · 22 km deep · 79 km away
  7. 1.64 km SSE of Hobart, Washington · 16408 days ago · 9 km deep · 75 km away
  8. 3.29 km N of Entiat, Washington · 16403 days ago · 7 km deep · 100 km away
  9. 1.92 km WSW of Wilderness Rim, Washington · 16397 days ago · 18 km deep · 66 km away
  10. 2.0Washington · 16389 days ago · 5 km deep · 100 km away
  11. 1.51 km E of White Center, Washington · 16385 days ago · 22 km deep · 82 km away
  12. 3.75 km SW of Clinton, Washington · 16385 days ago · 26 km deep · 68 km away

Before

  1. 2.31 km SSE of Lakeland North, Washington · 16452 days ago · 7 km deep · 94 km away
  2. 1.914 km NE of Snoqualmie, Washington · 16460 days ago · 4 km deep · 45 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10118483. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:40 AM UTC.