Washington earthquakes

M1.5 earthquake 5 km ENE of Orcas, Washington

A magnitude 1.5 earthquake struck 5 km ENE of Orcas, Washington on Tue, Mar 10, 1981, 11:20 AM PST (19:20 UTC), 16 km (10 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M1.6 16 km WNW of Langford, Canada. 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
1981-03-10 19:20:35 UTC
Depth
16.3 km (10.1 mi), shallow
Epicenter
48.614° N, 122.870° 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 1.8 km horizontally, 1.4 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.15
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
236°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
8

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 21 in the 60 days after this one and 6 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.616 km WNW of Langford, Canada · 16631 days ago · 25 km deep · 61 km away
  2. 1.56 km SE of Freeland, Washington · 16625 days ago · 50 km deep · 78 km away
  3. 2.313 km WNW of Orcas, Washington · 16625 days ago · 17 km deep · 18 km away
  4. 2.47 km SSE of Coupeville, Washington · 16617 days ago · 25 km deep · 54 km away
  5. 2.24 km S of Coupeville, Washington · 16610 days ago · 25 km deep · 50 km away
  6. 1.9Washington · 16608 days ago · 2 km deep · 51 km away
  7. 1.68 km WNW of Alger, Washington · 16601 days ago · -1 km deep · 32 km away
  8. 1.69 km ESE of Salt Spring Island, Canada · 16600 days ago · 20 km deep · 41 km away
  9. 1.84 km SSW of Hamilton, Washington · 16597 days ago · 3 km deep · 64 km away
  10. 1.711 km NNE of North Saanich, Canada · 16595 days ago · 14 km deep · 38 km away
  11. 2.122 km ENE of Glacier, Washington · 16594 days ago · -1 km deep · 97 km away
  12. 2.43 km ENE of Sedro-Woolley, Washington · 16593 days ago · 3 km deep · 51 km away
  13. 1.56 km SSE of Alger, Washington · 16592 days ago · 10 km deep · 41 km away
  14. 1.77 km NNW of Kingston, Washington · 16587 days ago · 29 km deep · 88 km away
  15. 1.56 km NNE of Oso, Washington · 16586 days ago · 0 km deep · 78 km away
  16. 1.76 km NNE of Oso, Washington · 16579 days ago · 0 km deep · 78 km away
  17. 2.05 km NNE of Oso, Washington · 16579 days ago · 5 km deep · 80 km away
  18. 1.65 km NNE of Oso, Washington · 16579 days ago · 1 km deep · 78 km away
  19. 2.56 km NNE of Oso, Washington · 16579 days ago · 1 km deep · 79 km away
  20. 1.55 km NNE of Oso, Washington · 16579 days ago · 0 km deep · 78 km away
  21. 1.5Washington · 16578 days ago · 1 km deep · 78 km away

Before

  1. 2.116 km SE of Oak Bay, Canada · 16633 days ago · 40 km deep · 39 km away
  2. 2.012 km N of Concrete, Washington · 16637 days ago · -1 km deep · 84 km away
  3. 1.613 km NNE of Orcas, Washington · 16638 days ago · 9 km deep · 10 km away
  4. 2.66 km NNE of Cedar, Canada · 16641 days ago · 59 km deep · 92 km away
  5. 1.512 km E of Acme, Washington · 16646 days ago · -1 km deep · 62 km away
  6. 1.911 km NNW of Swede Heaven, Washington · 16656 days ago · 9 km deep · 83 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10101603. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC.