Washington earthquakes

M1.7 earthquake 20 km S of Morton, Washington

A magnitude 1.7 earthquake struck 20 km S of Morton, Washington on Sun, Nov 8, 1981, 12:16 PM PST (20:16 UTC), 8 km (5 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M1.9 23 km ESE of Packwood, 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.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
1.7 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-11-08 20:16:47 UTC
Depth
8.0 km (5.0 mi), shallow
Epicenter
46.377° N, 122.248° 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, 0.3 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.10
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
41°
Stations used
28

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 10 in the 60 days after this one and 5 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.78 km SE of Mineral, Washington · 16382 days ago · 18 km deep · 32 km away
  2. 1.923 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16378 days ago · 4 km deep · 68 km away
  3. 1.53 km NE of East Cathlamet, Washington · 16374 days ago · 21 km deep · 85 km away
  4. 1.525 km ENE of Ashford, Washington · 16371 days ago · -1 km deep · 67 km away
  5. 2.722 km S of Morton, Washington · 16366 days ago · 5 km deep · 3 km away
  6. 1.623 km S of Morton, Washington · 16350 days ago · 10 km deep · 3 km away
  7. 2.024 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16349 days ago · 5 km deep · 68 km away
  8. 2.732 km S of Morton, Washington · 16349 days ago · 1 km deep · 12 km away
  9. 1.718 km NNE of Ashford, Washington · 16343 days ago · 9 km deep · 64 km away
  10. 1.924 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16334 days ago · 5 km deep · 69 km away

Before

  1. 2.55 km SSE of Mill Plain, Washington · 16389 days ago · 6 km deep · 88 km away
  2. 2.21 km NE of White Salmon, Washington · 16399 days ago · 3 km deep · 93 km away
  3. 1.638 km NNE of Amboy, Washington · 16405 days ago · 1 km deep · 19 km away
  4. 1.625 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16409 days ago · 0 km deep · 71 km away
  5. 1.95 km SSE of Mineral, Washington · 16414 days ago · 19 km deep · 33 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10121763. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 7:55 AM UTC.