California earthquakes

M1.6 earthquake 26 km WSW of Burnt Ranch, California

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake struck 26 km WSW of Burnt Ranch, California on Fri, Sep 4, 1981, 12:22 AM PDT (07:22 UTC), 27 km (17 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M1.8 36 km SW of Ferndale, California. This one was a foreshock.

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 1.6 (md), micro
Local time: Fri, Sep 4, 1981, 12:22 AM PDT
UTC: 1981-09-04 07:22:06 UTC
Depth: 27.1 km (16.8 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 40.696° N, 123.751° W
Region: California
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, 1.0 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.07
Depth from: From location
Station coverage gap: 139°
Stations used: 14

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 177 in the 60 days after this one and 22 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 177.

Before

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1067356. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:39 PM UTC.