Washington earthquakes

M1.6 earthquake 23 km S of Morton, Washington

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake struck 23 km S of Morton, Washington on Wed, Dec 16, 1981, 7:09 PM PST (03:09 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.0 24 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
1.6 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-12-17 03:09:30 UTC
Depth
10.2 km (6.3 mi), shallow
Epicenter
46.352° N, 122.246° 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, 0.4 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.05
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
40°
Stations used
25

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 13 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 2.024 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16349 days ago · 5 km deep · 69 km away
  2. 2.732 km S of Morton, Washington · 16349 days ago · 1 km deep · 9 km away
  3. 1.718 km NNE of Ashford, Washington · 16343 days ago · 9 km deep · 67 km away
  4. 1.924 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16334 days ago · 5 km deep · 70 km away
  5. 1.82 km ENE of Amboy, Washington · 16325 days ago · 12 km deep · 50 km away
  6. 2.925 km S of Morton, Washington · 16313 days ago · 8 km deep · 3 km away
  7. 3.223 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16313 days ago · 2 km deep · 70 km away
  8. 2.120 km S of Morton, Washington · 16309 days ago · 7 km deep · 3 km away
  9. 2.124 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16306 days ago · -1 km deep · 69 km away
  10. 1.915 km NE of Ashford, Washington · 16299 days ago · 4 km deep · 62 km away
  11. 1.814 km NNE of Ashford, Washington · 16297 days ago · 7 km deep · 62 km away
  12. 2.313 km SSE of Morton, Washington · 16297 days ago · 3 km deep · 11 km away
  13. 1.89 km NNW of Packwood, Washington · 16296 days ago · 2 km deep · 56 km away

Before

  1. 2.722 km S of Morton, Washington · 16366 days ago · 5 km deep · 0 km away
  2. 1.525 km ENE of Ashford, Washington · 16371 days ago · -1 km deep · 69 km away
  3. 1.53 km NE of East Cathlamet, Washington · 16374 days ago · 21 km deep · 85 km away
  4. 1.923 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16378 days ago · 4 km deep · 68 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10122483. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:06 AM UTC.