Washington earthquakes

M1.8 earthquake Washington

A magnitude 1.8 earthquake struck in Washington on Thu, Jul 23, 1981, 9:46 AM PDT (16:46 UTC), 7 km (4 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.1 5 km NW of Orcas, 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
1.8 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-07-23 16:46:20 UTC
Depth
6.6 km (4.1 mi), shallow
Epicenter
48.691° N, 122.146° 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 1.2 km horizontally, 1.8 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.10
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
151°
Stations used
10

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 9 in the 60 days after this one and 18 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 2.15 km NW of Orcas, Washington · 16497 days ago · 16 km deep · 62 km away
  2. 1.93 km W of Fobes Hill, Washington · 16491 days ago · 14 km deep · 82 km away
  3. 2.16 km ENE of Deming, Washington · 16491 days ago · 3 km deep · 16 km away
  4. 1.913 km NNE of Hamilton, Washington · 16476 days ago · 11 km deep · 16 km away
  5. 2.44 km N of Deming, Washington · 16474 days ago · 12 km deep · 21 km away
  6. 1.57 km WSW of Aldergrove, Canada · 16462 days ago · 37 km deep · 50 km away
  7. 1.87 km NNW of Deming, Washington · 16440 days ago · 12 km deep · 23 km away
  8. 1.919 km NNE of Index, Washington · 16440 days ago · 2 km deep · 92 km away
  9. 1.54 km ENE of Blaine, Washington · 16438 days ago · 10 km deep · 53 km away

Before

  1. 2.04 km W of Darrington, Washington · 16504 days ago · 2 km deep · 61 km away
  2. 2.07 km E of Deming, Washington · 16504 days ago · 3 km deep · 16 km away
  3. 1.613 km WNW of Orcas, Washington · 16507 days ago · 15 km deep · 72 km away
  4. 1.95 km S of Kendall, Washington · 16511 days ago · 9 km deep · 20 km away
  5. 1.97 km SSE of Kendall, Washington · 16516 days ago · 3 km deep · 18 km away
  6. 2.313 km WNW of Orcas, Washington · 16519 days ago · 16 km deep · 71 km away
  7. 1.55 km W of Darrington, Washington · 16521 days ago · 11 km deep · 60 km away
  8. 1.87 km SSE of Kendall, Washington · 16521 days ago · 9 km deep · 18 km away
  9. 2.16 km ENE of Deming, Washington · 16521 days ago · 7 km deep · 17 km away
  10. 1.95 km ENE of Deming, Washington · 16522 days ago · 2 km deep · 17 km away
  11. 2.56 km E of Deming, Washington · 16522 days ago · 2 km deep · 16 km away
  12. 2.06 km ENE of Deming, Washington · 16523 days ago · 2 km deep · 17 km away
  13. 1.96 km E of Deming, Washington · 16523 days ago · 1 km deep · 14 km away
  14. 1.96 km E of Deming, Washington · 16523 days ago · 3 km deep · 15 km away
  15. 2.36 km ENE of Deming, Washington · 16523 days ago · 2 km deep · 17 km away
  16. 1.96 km ENE of Deming, Washington · 16523 days ago · 7 km deep · 16 km away
  17. 2.26 km ENE of Deming, Washington · 16524 days ago · 2 km deep · 17 km away
  18. 1.55 km NE of Port Townsend, Washington · 16525 days ago · 26 km deep · 73 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10118373. Read Wed, Sep 23, 2026, 4:32 AM UTC.