Washington earthquakes

M1.6 earthquake 13 km NNE of Orcas, Washington

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake struck 13 km NNE of Orcas, Washington on Tue, Mar 3, 1981, 1:45 PM PST (21:45 UTC), 9 km (6 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.0 12 km N of Concrete, 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
1.6 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-03-03 21:45:28 UTC
Depth
9.3 km (5.8 mi), shallow
Epicenter
48.700° N, 122.845° 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 1.3 km horizontally, 0.7 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.15
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
217°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
5

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 23 in the 60 days after this one and 5 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 2.012 km N of Concrete, Washington · 16637 days ago · -1 km deep · 82 km away
  2. 2.116 km SE of Oak Bay, Canada · 16633 days ago · 40 km deep · 48 km away
  3. 1.55 km ENE of Orcas, Washington · 16631 days ago · 16 km deep · 10 km away
  4. 1.616 km WNW of Langford, Canada · 16630 days ago · 25 km deep · 65 km away
  5. 1.56 km SE of Freeland, Washington · 16625 days ago · 50 km deep · 87 km away
  6. 2.313 km WNW of Orcas, Washington · 16625 days ago · 17 km deep · 20 km away
  7. 2.47 km SSE of Coupeville, Washington · 16617 days ago · 25 km deep · 62 km away
  8. 2.24 km S of Coupeville, Washington · 16610 days ago · 25 km deep · 59 km away
  9. 1.9Washington · 16608 days ago · 2 km deep · 53 km away
  10. 1.68 km WNW of Alger, Washington · 16601 days ago · -1 km deep · 30 km away
  11. 1.69 km ESE of Salt Spring Island, Canada · 16600 days ago · 20 km deep · 40 km away
  12. 1.84 km SSW of Hamilton, Washington · 16597 days ago · 3 km deep · 65 km away
  13. 1.711 km NNE of North Saanich, Canada · 16595 days ago · 14 km deep · 37 km away
  14. 2.122 km ENE of Glacier, Washington · 16593 days ago · -1 km deep · 92 km away
  15. 2.43 km ENE of Sedro-Woolley, Washington · 16593 days ago · 3 km deep · 52 km away
  16. 1.56 km SSE of Alger, Washington · 16592 days ago · 10 km deep · 42 km away
  17. 1.77 km NNW of Kingston, Washington · 16586 days ago · 29 km deep · 97 km away
  18. 1.56 km NNE of Oso, Washington · 16586 days ago · 0 km deep · 81 km away
  19. 1.76 km NNE of Oso, Washington · 16579 days ago · 0 km deep · 80 km away
  20. 2.05 km NNE of Oso, Washington · 16579 days ago · 5 km deep · 82 km away
  21. 1.65 km NNE of Oso, Washington · 16579 days ago · 1 km deep · 81 km away
  22. 2.56 km NNE of Oso, Washington · 16579 days ago · 1 km deep · 82 km away
  23. 1.55 km NNE of Oso, Washington · 16579 days ago · 0 km deep · 80 km away

Before

  1. 2.66 km NNE of Cedar, Canada · 16641 days ago · 59 km deep · 87 km away
  2. 1.512 km E of Acme, Washington · 16645 days ago · -1 km deep · 59 km away
  3. 1.911 km NNW of Swede Heaven, Washington · 16655 days ago · 9 km deep · 85 km away
  4. 1.55 km ESE of Oso, Washington · 16665 days ago · -1 km deep · 88 km away
  5. 1.93 km WSW of Big Lake, Washington · 16667 days ago · 15 km deep · 54 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10098723. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 3:51 AM UTC.