Washington earthquakes

M1.5 earthquake 11 km SW of Nile, Washington

A magnitude 1.5 earthquake struck 11 km SW of Nile, Washington on Sat, Feb 21, 1981, 6:11 PM PST (02:11 UTC), 3 km (2 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.8 3 km E of Cle Elum, Washington. This one was a foreshock.

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Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude
1.5 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-02-22 02:11:03 UTC
Depth
3.0 km (1.9 mi), shallow
Epicenter
46.739° N, 121.029° 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 0.9 km horizontally, 1.6 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.18
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
69°
Stations used
19

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 10 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 2.83 km E of Cle Elum, Washington · 16640 days ago · -1 km deep · 52 km away
  2. 2.94 km E of Cle Elum, Washington · 16636 days ago · -1 km deep · 52 km away
  3. 2.67 km NE of Snoqualmie Pass, Washington · 16632 days ago · 7 km deep · 82 km away
  4. 1.78 km WSW of George, Washington · 16626 days ago · 0 km deep · 88 km away
  5. 1.88 km WSW of George, Washington · 16619 days ago · 0 km deep · 88 km away
  6. 2.110 km NNE of Naches, Washington · 16592 days ago · 14 km deep · 29 km away
  7. 1.717 km E of Packwood, Washington · 16590 days ago · 6 km deep · 34 km away

Before

  1. 1.712 km SSW of Nile, Washington · 16649 days ago · 3 km deep · 1 km away
  2. 2.02 km E of Cle Elum, Washington · 16652 days ago · -1 km deep · 52 km away
  3. 4.23 km E of Cle Elum, Washington · 16652 days ago · 3 km deep · 52 km away
  4. 1.53 km ENE of Cle Elum, Washington · 16655 days ago · 0 km deep · 53 km away
  5. 2.62 km E of Cle Elum, Washington · 16655 days ago · 5 km deep · 52 km away
  6. 1.63 km E of Cle Elum, Washington · 16657 days ago · 7 km deep · 52 km away
  7. 2.637 km SSE of Morton, Washington · 16665 days ago · 0 km deep · 98 km away
  8. 2.130 km SSE of Morton, Washington · 16666 days ago · 20 km deep · 97 km away
  9. 1.621 km WSW of White Swan, Washington · 16669 days ago · -1 km deep · 51 km away
  10. 4.023 km SW of White Swan, Washington · 16669 days ago · 1 km deep · 53 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10111083. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 3:53 PM UTC.