Washington earthquakes

M1.5 earthquake 6 km S of Morton, Washington

A magnitude 1.5 earthquake struck 6 km S of Morton, Washington on Wed, Sep 2, 1981, 8:13 AM PDT (15:13 UTC), 4 km (3 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M1.9 24 km S of Morton, Washington. This one was a foreshock.

Morton forecastMore in Washington

Map

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

Open the live map with earthquakes

The earthquake

Magnitude
1.5 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-09-02 15:13:56 UTC
Depth
4.0 km (2.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter
46.500° N, 122.285° 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 0.2 km horizontally, 0.5 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.04
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
54°
Stations used
23

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 19 in the 60 days after this one and 22 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.924 km S of Morton, Washington · 16456 days ago · 3 km deep · 19 km away
  2. 1.724 km S of Morton, Washington · 16456 days ago · 3 km deep · 19 km away
  3. 1.938 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 16455 days ago · -1 km deep · 34 km away
  4. 1.638 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 16453 days ago · 0 km deep · 34 km away
  5. 2.31 km SSE of Lakeland North, Washington · 16453 days ago · 7 km deep · 92 km away
  6. 1.637 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 16452 days ago · -1 km deep · 35 km away
  7. 1.938 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 16452 days ago · -1 km deep · 34 km away
  8. 1.521 km NE of Ashford, Washington · 16451 days ago · 6 km deep · 56 km away
  9. 2.024 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16449 days ago · 3 km deep · 69 km away
  10. 1.623 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16449 days ago · -1 km deep · 68 km away
  11. 2.423 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16449 days ago · -1 km deep · 69 km away
  12. 1.518 km NNE of Ashford, Washington · 16446 days ago · 9 km deep · 53 km away
  13. 1.62 km SSW of Parkland, Washington · 16444 days ago · 53 km deep · 72 km away
  14. 1.517 km NW of Trout Lake, Washington · 16430 days ago · 3 km deep · 63 km away
  15. 1.823 km S of Morton, Washington · 16430 days ago · 8 km deep · 18 km away
  16. 2.624 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16421 days ago · 3 km deep · 70 km away
  17. 1.95 km SSE of Mineral, Washington · 16414 days ago · 19 km deep · 21 km away
  18. 1.625 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16409 days ago · 0 km deep · 72 km away
  19. 1.638 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 16405 days ago · 1 km deep · 33 km away

Before

  1. 1.638 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 16457 days ago · 0 km deep · 34 km away
  2. 1.838 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 16458 days ago · 0 km deep · 34 km away
  3. 1.524 km ENE of Ashford, Washington · 16459 days ago · -1 km deep · 57 km away
  4. 1.637 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 16459 days ago · 1 km deep · 34 km away
  5. 2.12 km WNW of Home, Washington · 16463 days ago · 22 km deep · 95 km away
  6. 2.023 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16463 days ago · 5 km deep · 69 km away
  7. 1.525 km ENE of Ashford, Washington · 16465 days ago · 0 km deep · 58 km away
  8. 1.724 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16465 days ago · -1 km deep · 69 km away
  9. 3.422 km S of Morton, Washington · 16466 days ago · 7 km deep · 16 km away
  10. 1.522 km S of Morton, Washington · 16469 days ago · 7 km deep · 16 km away
  11. 1.67 km WSW of Felida, Washington · 16472 days ago · 21 km deep · 98 km away
  12. 2.321 km SSE of Packwood, Washington · 16472 days ago · 1 km deep · 54 km away
  13. 2.04 km SSW of Orting, Washington · 16472 days ago · 0 km deep · 62 km away
  14. 1.537 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 16473 days ago · -1 km deep · 34 km away
  15. 1.522 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16476 days ago · 2 km deep · 67 km away
  16. 1.638 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 16477 days ago · -1 km deep · 33 km away
  17. 1.923 km ENE of Ashford, Washington · 16477 days ago · -1 km deep · 57 km away
  18. 1.923 km ENE of Ashford, Washington · 16477 days ago · 0 km deep · 57 km away
  19. 1.737 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 16478 days ago · -1 km deep · 34 km away
  20. 2.829 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16483 days ago · 3 km deep · 73 km away

Earthquakes todayWashington earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10112823. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:15 PM UTC.