M1.5 earthquake 3 km N of Ritzville, Washington
A magnitude 1.5 earthquake struck 3 km N of Ritzville, Washington on Sun, Apr 5, 1981, 7:29 PM PST (03:29 UTC), 9 km (6 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M2.0 16 km SW of Odessa, Washington. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 1.5 (md), micro
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-04-06 03:29:33 UTC
- Depth
- 9.4 km (5.9 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 47.155° N, 118.379° 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 1.7 km horizontally, 1.7 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.09
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 201°, poorly surrounded by stations
- Stations used
- 15
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
Before
Earthquakes todayWashington earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10099648. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 3:56 PM UTC.