California earthquakes

M1.8 earthquake California-Nevada border region

A magnitude 1.8 earthquake struck in the California-Nevada border region on Sat, Nov 14, 1981, 8:19 PM PST (04:19 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.2 5km SSE of Mammoth Lakes, CA. This one was a foreshock.

Mammoth Lakes forecast More in California

Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 1.8 (md), micro
Local time: Sat, Nov 14, 1981, 8:19 PM PST
UTC: 1981-11-15 04:19:38 UTC
Depth: 9.7 km (6.0 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 37.542° N, 118.779° 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 0.6 km horizontally, 1.1 km in depth
Depth from: From location
Station coverage gap: 168°
Stations used: 8

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 75 in the 60 days after this one and 36 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 75.

Before

Earthquakes today California earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1069460 (also filed as ci151952). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 10:00 AM UTC.