California earthquakes

M1.6 earthquake 6km WSW of Beaumont, CA

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake struck 6km WSW of Beaumont, CA on Thu, Aug 20, 1981, 9:05 AM PDT (16:05 UTC), 11 km (7 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.0 8km NE of Julian, CA. This one was a foreshock.

Beaumont forecastMore in California

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

The earthquake

Magnitude
1.6 (Mc), micro
Magnitude from
Southern California Seismic Network
Local time
UTC
1981-08-20 16:05:21 UTC
Depth
10.6 km (6.6 mi), shallow
Epicenter
33.901° N, 117.036° 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 0.3 km horizontally, 0.6 km in depth
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
43°
Stations used
35

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 151 in the 60 days after this one and 81 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 151.

Before

Earthquakes todayCalifornia earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event ci521433. Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 2:30 AM UTC.