California earthquakes

M1.8 earthquake 20 km S of Avenal, California

A magnitude 1.8 earthquake struck 20 km S of Avenal, California on Thu, Feb 19, 1981, 8:46 PM PST (04:46 UTC), 11 km (7 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.6 17 km NW of Parkfield, California. This one was a foreshock.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
1.8 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-02-20 04:46:11 UTC
Depth
11.1 km (6.9 mi), shallow
Epicenter
35.818° N, 120.102° 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 1.7 km horizontally, 0.5 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.14
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
253°, 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: 48 in the 60 days after this one and 47 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1060576 (also filed as ci12255319). Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 8:51 PM UTC.