Washington earthquakes

M2.7 earthquake 32 km S of Morton, Washington

A magnitude 2.7 earthquake struck 32 km S of Morton, Washington on Fri, Dec 18, 1981, 1:20 AM PST (09:20 UTC), 1 km (1 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.9 25 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
2.7 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-12-18 09:20:11 UTC
Depth
0.9 km (0.6 mi), shallow
Epicenter
46.271° N, 122.204° 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 0.7 km horizontally, 5.7 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.08
Depth from
Operator assigned
Station coverage gap
47°
Stations used
45

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 11 in the 60 days after this one and 6 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.718 km NNE of Ashford, Washington · 16342 days ago · 9 km deep · 74 km away
  2. 1.924 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16333 days ago · 5 km deep · 70 km away
  3. 1.82 km ENE of Amboy, Washington · 16324 days ago · 12 km deep · 43 km away
  4. 2.925 km S of Morton, Washington · 16312 days ago · 8 km deep · 7 km away
  5. 3.223 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16312 days ago · 2 km deep · 70 km away
  6. 2.120 km S of Morton, Washington · 16308 days ago · 7 km deep · 12 km away
  7. 2.124 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16306 days ago · -1 km deep · 69 km away
  8. 1.915 km NE of Ashford, Washington · 16298 days ago · 4 km deep · 70 km away
  9. 1.814 km NNE of Ashford, Washington · 16296 days ago · 7 km deep · 70 km away
  10. 2.313 km SSE of Morton, Washington · 16296 days ago · 3 km deep · 20 km away
  11. 1.89 km NNW of Packwood, Washington · 16295 days ago · 2 km deep · 60 km away

Before

  1. 2.024 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16348 days ago · 5 km deep · 69 km away
  2. 1.623 km S of Morton, Washington · 16349 days ago · 10 km deep · 9 km away
  3. 2.722 km S of Morton, Washington · 16365 days ago · 5 km deep · 10 km away
  4. 1.525 km ENE of Ashford, Washington · 16370 days ago · -1 km deep · 75 km away
  5. 1.53 km NE of East Cathlamet, Washington · 16373 days ago · 21 km deep · 87 km away
  6. 1.923 km ESE of Packwood, Washington · 16377 days ago · 4 km deep · 68 km away

Earthquakes todayWashington earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10122643. Read Mon, Sep 21, 2026, 11:26 AM UTC.