M1.7 earthquake 21 km ENE of Moses Lake, Washington
A magnitude 1.7 earthquake struck 21 km ENE of Moses Lake, Washington on Thu, Jan 22, 1981, 4:18 PM PST (00:18 UTC), 0 km (0 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M2.7 15 km NW of Basin City, Washington. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 1.7 (md), micro
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-01-23 00:18:12 UTC
- Depth
- 0.1 km (0.1 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 47.191° N, 119.009° W
- Region
- Washington
- 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 1.4 km horizontally
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.44
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 125°
- Stations used
- 9
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 8 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 1.715 km NW of Basin City, Washington · 16662 days ago · 2 km deep · 62 km away
- 2.1Washington · 16656 days ago · 0 km deep · 45 km away
- 2.715 km NW of Basin City, Washington · 16655 days ago · 0 km deep · 61 km away
- 1.515 km NW of Basin City, Washington · 16655 days ago · 0 km deep · 62 km away
- 2.024 km ESE of Waterville, Washington · 16652 days ago · 6 km deep · 71 km away
- 2.77 km NE of Royal City, Washington · 16647 days ago · 0 km deep · 50 km away
- 1.78 km WSW of George, Washington · 16630 days ago · 0 km deep · 74 km away
- 1.88 km WSW of George, Washington · 16623 days ago · 0 km deep · 73 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayWashington earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10096123. Read Sat, Sep 26, 2026, 7:46 PM UTC.