M1.9 earthquake 5 km NW of Orcas, Washington
A magnitude 1.9 earthquake struck 5 km NW of Orcas, Washington on Sat, Dec 27, 1986, 5:24 AM PST (13:24 UTC), 15 km (9 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M2.7 5 km WNW of Edmonds, Washington. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 1.9 (md), micro
- Local time
- UTC
- 1986-12-27 13:24:14 UTC
- Depth
- 15.0 km (9.3 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 48.633° N, 122.992° 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 0.5 km horizontally, 0.7 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.08
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 41°
- Stations used
- 26
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 1.88 km SE of Hamilton, Washington · 14505 days ago · 7 km deep · 81 km away
- 2.75 km WNW of Edmonds, Washington · 14495 days ago · 19 km deep · 98 km away
- 1.64 km WNW of Edmonds, Washington · 14495 days ago · 18 km deep · 99 km away
- 1.57 km SSE of Hamilton, Washington · 14486 days ago · 11 km deep · 80 km away
- 1.618 km NNW of Orcas, Washington · 14477 days ago · 53 km deep · 13 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayWashington earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uw10216928. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 4:09 PM UTC.