Washington earthquakes

M1.5 earthquake Washington

A magnitude 1.5 earthquake struck in Washington on Sun, Dec 27, 1981, 10:04 PM PST (06:04 UTC), 11 km (7 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M1.8 2 km WNW of Echo Lake, Washington. This one was a foreshock.

Bryant 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
1981-12-28 06:04:03 UTC
Depth
11.1 km (6.9 mi), shallow
Epicenter
48.313° N, 122.080° 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 1.0 km horizontally, 1.5 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.08
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
125°
Stations used
9

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 22 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.82 km WNW of Echo Lake, Washington · 16336 days ago · 20 km deep · 58 km away
  2. 2.02 km SW of Cottage Lake, Washington · 16335 days ago · 15 km deep · 65 km away
  3. 2.918 km NNE of Index, Washington · 16335 days ago · 5 km deep · 57 km away
  4. 1.9Washington · 16335 days ago · -1 km deep · 70 km away
  5. 1.53 km NNW of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 16334 days ago · 4 km deep · 67 km away
  6. 1.63 km ENE of Union Hill-Novelty Hill, Washington · 16332 days ago · -1 km deep · 70 km away
  7. 1.70 km NW of Normandy Park, Washington · 16331 days ago · 17 km deep · 99 km away
  8. 1.61 km SE of Bothell East, Washington · 16330 days ago · 20 km deep · 58 km away
  9. 2.72 km NE of Port Hadlock-Irondale, Washington · 16322 days ago · 55 km deep · 59 km away
  10. 1.66 km WSW of Lake Cavanaugh, Washington · 16321 days ago · 9 km deep · 2 km away
  11. 1.53 km NE of North Bend, Washington · 16318 days ago · 12 km deep · 91 km away
  12. 2.26 km W of Rockport, Washington · 16315 days ago · 1 km deep · 35 km away
  13. 2.06 km W of Rockport, Washington · 16315 days ago · 2 km deep · 36 km away
  14. 3.18 km WSW of Ferndale, Washington · 16307 days ago · 17 km deep · 72 km away
  15. 1.89 km SSE of Birch Bay, Washington · 16305 days ago · 18 km deep · 75 km away
  16. 1.75 km W of Seattle, Washington · 16302 days ago · 21 km deep · 83 km away
  17. 2.13 km ESE of Three Lakes, Washington · 16298 days ago · 12 km deep · 43 km away
  18. 1.61 km WSW of Edmonds, Washington · 16298 days ago · 24 km deep · 61 km away
  19. 1.56 km W of Seattle, Washington · 16298 days ago · 23 km deep · 82 km away
  20. 2.32 km SSE of Glacier, Washington · 16296 days ago · -1 km deep · 63 km away
  21. 2.02 km WSW of Wilderness Rim, Washington · 16289 days ago · 18 km deep · 100 km away
  22. 1.53 km ENE of Union Hill-Novelty Hill, Washington · 16281 days ago · 0 km deep · 69 km away

Before

  1. 1.61 km NW of Oak Harbor, Washington · 16359 days ago · 24 km deep · 43 km away
  2. 1.652 km WNW of Granite Falls, Washington · 16361 days ago · 0 km deep · 94 km away
  3. 1.91 km SE of Lake Stevens, Washington · 16364 days ago · 0 km deep · 34 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10123743. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 6:12 PM UTC.