M1.6 earthquake 5 km SSE of Stevenson, Alabama
A magnitude 1.6 earthquake struck 5 km SSE of Stevenson, Alabama on Wed, Dec 23, 1981, 10:10 AM CST (16:10 UTC), 6 km (4 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M3.1 11 km N of Brighton, Tennessee. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 1.6 (md), micro
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-12-23 16:10:12 UTC
- Depth
- 6.3 km (3.9 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 34.825° N, 85.813° W
- Region
- Alabama
- 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.
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 179°
- 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: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayAlabama earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event se60142. Read Wed, Sep 23, 2026, 1:58 AM UTC.