Washington earthquakes

M1.6 earthquake 15 km NNE of May Creek, Washington

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake struck 15 km NNE of May Creek, Washington on Sat, Mar 14, 1981, 9:08 AM PST (17:08 UTC), 8 km (5 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.6 19 km NNE of Index, 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
1.6 (Md, duration), micro
Magnitude from
Pacific Northwest Seismic Network
Local time
UTC
1981-03-14 17:08:31 UTC
Depth
8.0 km (4.9 mi), shallow
Epicenter
47.981° N, 121.566° 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 1.9 km horizontally, 1.4 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.15
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
199°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
8

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 36 in the 60 days after this one and 8 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 3.619 km NNE of Index, Washington · 16636 days ago · 5 km deep · 5 km away
  2. 1.518 km N of Index, Washington · 16636 days ago · 5 km deep · 4 km away
  3. 1.618 km NE of May Creek, Washington · 16636 days ago · 6 km deep · 3 km away
  4. 1.918 km N of Index, Washington · 16636 days ago · 5 km deep · 4 km away
  5. 2.410 km NE of Snoqualmie, Washington · 16635 days ago · 6 km deep · 45 km away
  6. 1.56 km SE of Freeland, Washington · 16635 days ago · 50 km deep · 68 km away
  7. 1.74 km WNW of Burien, Washington · 16630 days ago · 17 km deep · 83 km away
  8. 2.47 km SSE of Coupeville, Washington · 16626 days ago · 25 km deep · 83 km away
  9. 1.518 km NNE of Index, Washington · 16626 days ago · 2 km deep · 5 km away
  10. 2.24 km S of Coupeville, Washington · 16619 days ago · 25 km deep · 87 km away
  11. 2.79 km W of Entiat, Washington · 16619 days ago · 0 km deep · 98 km away
  12. 1.9Washington · 16617 days ago · 2 km deep · 74 km away
  13. 1.7Washington · 16617 days ago · 4 km deep · 3 km away
  14. 1.53 km SE of Echo Lake, Washington · 16616 days ago · 16 km deep · 41 km away
  15. 2.07 km ENE of Snoqualmie, Washington · 16616 days ago · 8 km deep · 48 km away
  16. 1.97 km ENE of Snoqualmie, Washington · 16616 days ago · 9 km deep · 48 km away
  17. 1.811 km NNE of Snoqualmie, Washington · 16613 days ago · 13 km deep · 43 km away
  18. 1.68 km WNW of Alger, Washington · 16611 days ago · -1 km deep · 99 km away
  19. 1.84 km SSW of Hamilton, Washington · 16606 days ago · 3 km deep · 66 km away
  20. 1.916 km NNE of May Creek, Washington · 16605 days ago · 7 km deep · 1 km away
  21. 2.43 km ENE of Sedro-Woolley, Washington · 16603 days ago · 3 km deep · 75 km away
  22. 1.56 km SSE of Alger, Washington · 16601 days ago · 10 km deep · 86 km away
  23. 2.42 km SSE of Maple Heights-Lake Desire, Washington · 16601 days ago · 17 km deep · 73 km away
  24. 1.77 km NNW of Kingston, Washington · 16596 days ago · 29 km deep · 75 km away
  25. 1.56 km NNE of Oso, Washington · 16596 days ago · 0 km deep · 46 km away
  26. 1.54 km WSW of Chico, Washington · 16593 days ago · 12 km deep · 99 km away
  27. 2.14 km WSW of Chico, Washington · 16593 days ago · 13 km deep · 99 km away
  28. 1.6Puget Sound region, Washington · 16592 days ago · 17 km deep · 85 km away
  29. 1.76 km NNE of Oso, Washington · 16589 days ago · 0 km deep · 46 km away
  30. 2.05 km NNE of Oso, Washington · 16589 days ago · 5 km deep · 44 km away
  31. 1.65 km NNE of Oso, Washington · 16589 days ago · 1 km deep · 45 km away
  32. 2.56 km NNE of Oso, Washington · 16589 days ago · 1 km deep · 45 km away
  33. 1.55 km NNE of Oso, Washington · 16588 days ago · 0 km deep · 46 km away
  34. 1.5Washington · 16587 days ago · 1 km deep · 46 km away
  35. 1.52 km SW of Roosevelt, Washington · 16585 days ago · 25 km deep · 37 km away
  36. 1.81 km SE of Enetai, Washington · 16580 days ago · 32 km deep · 88 km away

Before

  1. 2.67 km NE of Snoqualmie Pass, Washington · 16641 days ago · 7 km deep · 61 km away
  2. 1.75 km E of Carnation, Washington · 16646 days ago · 15 km deep · 41 km away
  3. 2.012 km N of Concrete, Washington · 16647 days ago · -1 km deep · 76 km away
  4. 1.512 km E of Acme, Washington · 16655 days ago · -1 km deep · 90 km away
  5. 1.81 km WNW of Federal Way, Washington · 16656 days ago · 15 km deep · 92 km away
  6. 2.00 km ENE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 16659 days ago · 7 km deep · 41 km away
  7. 1.53 km ENE of Cle Elum, Washington · 16664 days ago · 0 km deep · 99 km away
  8. 1.911 km NNW of Swede Heaven, Washington · 16665 days ago · 9 km deep · 47 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10103818. Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 1:59 PM UTC.