M1.6 earthquake 16 km WNW of Langford, Canada
A magnitude 1.6 earthquake struck 16 km WNW of Langford, Canada on Wed, Mar 11, 1981, 10:05 AM PST (18:05 UTC), 25 km (15 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M2.3 13 km WNW of Orcas, Washington. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 1.6 (md), micro
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-03-11 18:05:03 UTC
- Depth
- 24.5 km (15.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 48.526° N, 123.695° W
- Region
- Canada
- 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 0.2 km horizontally, 0.2 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.08
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 85°
- 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: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 2.313 km WNW of Orcas, Washington · 16626 days ago · 17 km deep · 45 km away
- 2.47 km SSE of Coupeville, Washington · 16617 days ago · 25 km deep · 88 km away
- 2.24 km S of Coupeville, Washington · 16610 days ago · 25 km deep · 83 km away
- 1.68 km WNW of Alger, Washington · 16602 days ago · -1 km deep · 94 km away
- 1.69 km ESE of Salt Spring Island, Canada · 16600 days ago · 20 km deep · 37 km away
- 1.63 km WSW of Forks, Washington · 16599 days ago · 23 km deep · 85 km away
- 1.711 km NNE of North Saanich, Canada · 16596 days ago · 14 km deep · 37 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayCanada earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10101933. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 4:52 PM UTC.