Washington earthquakes

M1.5 earthquake 5 km ESE of Oso, Washington

A magnitude 1.5 earthquake struck 5 km ESE of Oso, Washington on Wed, Feb 4, 1981, 1:41 PM PST (21:41 UTC), -1 km (0 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M1.9 11 km NNW of Swede Heaven, Washington. This one was a foreshock.

Swede Heaven forecastMore in Washington

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
1981-02-04 21:41:13 UTC
Depth
-0.5 km (-0.3 mi), shallow
Epicenter
48.253° N, 121.858° 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 0.1 km horizontally, 0.1 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.16
Depth from
Operator assigned
Station coverage gap
122°
Stations used
6

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 25 in the 60 days after this one and 8 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.911 km NNW of Swede Heaven, Washington · 16656 days ago · 9 km deep · 14 km away
  2. 2.00 km ENE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 16650 days ago · 7 km deep · 62 km away
  3. 1.512 km E of Acme, Washington · 16646 days ago · -1 km deep · 54 km away
  4. 1.613 km NNE of Orcas, Washington · 16639 days ago · 9 km deep · 88 km away
  5. 2.012 km N of Concrete, Washington · 16638 days ago · -1 km deep · 46 km away
  6. 1.75 km E of Carnation, Washington · 16637 days ago · 15 km deep · 66 km away
  7. 2.116 km SE of Oak Bay, Canada · 16634 days ago · 40 km deep · 98 km away
  8. 1.55 km ENE of Orcas, Washington · 16632 days ago · 16 km deep · 85 km away
  9. 2.67 km NE of Snoqualmie Pass, Washington · 16632 days ago · 7 km deep · 97 km away
  10. 1.615 km NNE of May Creek, Washington · 16628 days ago · 8 km deep · 37 km away
  11. 3.619 km NNE of Index, Washington · 16628 days ago · 5 km deep · 40 km away
  12. 1.518 km N of Index, Washington · 16628 days ago · 5 km deep · 39 km away
  13. 1.618 km NE of May Creek, Washington · 16628 days ago · 6 km deep · 39 km away
  14. 1.918 km N of Index, Washington · 16627 days ago · 5 km deep · 39 km away
  15. 2.410 km NE of Snoqualmie, Washington · 16626 days ago · 6 km deep · 74 km away
  16. 1.56 km SE of Freeland, Washington · 16626 days ago · 50 km deep · 56 km away
  17. 1.74 km WNW of Burien, Washington · 16621 days ago · 17 km deep · 94 km away
  18. 2.47 km SSE of Coupeville, Washington · 16617 days ago · 25 km deep · 60 km away
  19. 1.518 km NNE of Index, Washington · 16617 days ago · 2 km deep · 40 km away
  20. 2.24 km S of Coupeville, Washington · 16610 days ago · 25 km deep · 63 km away
  21. 1.9Washington · 16608 days ago · 2 km deep · 37 km away
  22. 1.7Washington · 16608 days ago · 4 km deep · 39 km away
  23. 1.53 km SE of Echo Lake, Washington · 16607 days ago · 16 km deep · 55 km away
  24. 2.07 km ENE of Snoqualmie, Washington · 16607 days ago · 8 km deep · 77 km away
  25. 1.97 km ENE of Snoqualmie, Washington · 16607 days ago · 9 km deep · 77 km away

Before

  1. 1.93 km WSW of Big Lake, Washington · 16667 days ago · 15 km deep · 35 km away
  2. 1.514 km SE of Verlot, Washington · 16668 days ago · 8 km deep · 31 km away
  3. 1.57 km ENE of Lake McMurray, Washington · 16670 days ago · 0 km deep · 22 km away
  4. 2.77 km ENE of Snoqualmie, Washington · 16673 days ago · 10 km deep · 77 km away
  5. 3.06 km W of Seattle, Washington · 16678 days ago · 22 km deep · 84 km away
  6. 1.82 km NW of Mirrormont, Washington · 16680 days ago · 10 km deep · 87 km away
  7. 1.93 km SSW of Keyport, Washington · 16688 days ago · 54 km deep · 87 km away
  8. 1.76 km SW of Friday Harbor, Washington · 16689 days ago · 47 km deep · 93 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10097108. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 7:57 PM UTC.