California earthquakes

M1.9 earthquake Central California

A magnitude 1.9 earthquake struck in Central California on Thu, Aug 20, 1981, 9:25 AM PDT (16:25 UTC), 4 km (3 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.0 3 km S of San Juan Bautista, California. This one was a foreshock.

San Juan Bautista forecastMore in California

Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude
1.9 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-08-20 16:25:09 UTC
Depth
4.2 km (2.6 mi), shallow
Epicenter
36.782° N, 121.481° 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 0.2 km horizontally, 0.4 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.17
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
73°
Stations used
42

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 156 in the 60 days after this one and 89 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.68 km SE of San Juan Bautista, California · 16473 days ago · 5 km deep · 0 km away
  2. 1.738 km SSW of South Dos Palos, California · 16473 days ago · 8 km deep · 61 km away
  3. 3.22 km SW of San Juan Bautista, California · 16473 days ago · 5 km deep · 9 km away
  4. 1.73 km NNW of Hollister, California · 16473 days ago · 7 km deep · 12 km away
  5. 1.76 km ENE of East Foothills, California · 16472 days ago · 4 km deep · 72 km away
  6. 1.5Near the coast of Central California · 16470 days ago · 15 km deep · 98 km away
  7. 2.18 km SW of Tres Pinos, California · 16470 days ago · 3 km deep · 10 km away
  8. 1.830 km ENE of Soledad, California · 16470 days ago · 7 km deep · 46 km away
  9. 2.33 km S of San Juan Bautista, California · 16470 days ago · 6 km deep · 6 km away
  10. 1.524 km NE of Greenfield, California · 16470 days ago · 5 km deep · 51 km away
  11. 2.137 km W of Three Rocks, California · 16469 days ago · 5 km deep · 65 km away
  12. 1.524 km NE of Greenfield, California · 16469 days ago · 2 km deep · 53 km away
  13. 2.237 km W of Three Rocks, California · 16469 days ago · 5 km deep · 66 km away
  14. 1.98 km ENE of San Martin, California · 16469 days ago · 5 km deep · 37 km away
  15. 1.615 km E of Seven Trees, California · 16468 days ago · 3 km deep · 58 km away
  16. 1.815 km E of Seven Trees, California · 16468 days ago · 3 km deep · 58 km away
  17. 2.122 km SE of Livermore, California · 16467 days ago · 6 km deep · 85 km away
  18. 2.36 km W of Soledad, California · 16467 days ago · 11 km deep · 41 km away
  19. 1.814 km E of Seven Trees, California · 16467 days ago · 2 km deep · 59 km away
  20. 1.715 km ESE of Tres Pinos, California · 16467 days ago · 10 km deep · 28 km away
  21. 2.37 km E of East Foothills, California · 16465 days ago · 6 km deep · 69 km away
  22. 1.924 km NE of King City, California · 16465 days ago · 1 km deep · 64 km away
  23. 1.89 km ENE of Gilroy, California · 16464 days ago · 9 km deep · 29 km away
  24. 2.424 km NE of Greenfield, California · 16463 days ago · 2 km deep · 50 km away
  25. 2.011 km S of Tres Pinos, California · 16462 days ago · 4 km deep · 18 km away
  26. 1.84 km W of Gonzales, California · 16462 days ago · 10 km deep · 31 km away
  27. 1.65 km E of Fremont, California · 16462 days ago · 9 km deep · 94 km away
  28. 2.06 km S of Sunol, California · 16461 days ago · 9 km deep · 91 km away
  29. 1.74 km N of Milpitas, California · 16461 days ago · 3 km deep · 86 km away
  30. 1.65 km E of Fremont, California · 16460 days ago · 10 km deep · 94 km away
  31. 1.99 km SSW of Tres Pinos, California · 16460 days ago · 2 km deep · 15 km away
  32. 2.724 km ENE of Soledad, California · 16460 days ago · 3 km deep · 49 km away
  33. 1.518 km ESE of East Foothills, California · 16460 days ago · 1 km deep · 60 km away
  34. 1.611 km ENE of Milpitas, California · 16459 days ago · 4 km deep · 83 km away
  35. 1.840 km W of Lockwood, California · 16459 days ago · 12 km deep · 98 km away
  36. 2.541 km W of Lockwood, California · 16459 days ago · 10 km deep · 98 km away
  37. 2.535 km ENE of Soledad, California · 16458 days ago · 5 km deep · 53 km away
  38. 2.221 km NE of Soledad, California · 16458 days ago · 8 km deep · 42 km away
  39. 1.929 km W of Three Rocks, California · 16458 days ago · 7 km deep · 74 km away
  40. 1.65 km SSW of Tres Pinos, California · 16457 days ago · 9 km deep · 13 km away
  41. 1.89 km E of San Martin, California · 16456 days ago · 9 km deep · 33 km away
  42. 1.611 km SSW of Loyola, California · 16456 days ago · 10 km deep · 79 km away
  43. 2.324 km NE of Greenfield, California · 16456 days ago · 6 km deep · 52 km away
  44. 1.524 km ENE of Soledad, California · 16455 days ago · 4 km deep · 49 km away
  45. 1.55 km ESE of Aromas, California · 16455 days ago · 7 km deep · 14 km away
  46. 2.424 km NE of Greenfield, California · 16455 days ago · 0 km deep · 54 km away
  47. 1.524 km NE of Greenfield, California · 16455 days ago · 1 km deep · 55 km away
  48. 3.121 km NE of Soledad, California · 16455 days ago · 5 km deep · 41 km away
  49. 2.19 km ENE of Morgan Hill, California · 16454 days ago · 6 km deep · 42 km away
  50. 1.62 km SSW of San Juan Bautista, California · 16454 days ago · 6 km deep · 7 km away
  51. 3.26 km S of San Juan Bautista, California · 16454 days ago · 11 km deep · 5 km away
  52. 2.96 km S of San Juan Bautista, California · 16453 days ago · 10 km deep · 4 km away
  53. 2.128 km SW of South Dos Palos, CA · 16452 days ago · 4 km deep · 54 km away
  54. 2.737 km W of Three Rocks, California · 16452 days ago · 7 km deep · 65 km away
  55. 2.338 km W of Three Rocks, California · 16452 days ago · 0 km deep · 65 km away
  56. 1.638 km W of Three Rocks, California · 16452 days ago · 5 km deep · 65 km away
  57. 2.237 km W of Three Rocks, California · 16452 days ago · 6 km deep · 65 km away
  58. 2.7Central California · 16452 days ago · 11 km deep · 77 km away
  59. 1.530 km E of Tres Pinos, California · 16451 days ago · 5 km deep · 45 km away
  60. 1.737 km W of Three Rocks, California · 16451 days ago · 3 km deep · 65 km away

The first 60 of 156.

Before

  1. 3.19 km SW of Tres Pinos, CA · 16474 days ago · 2 km deep · 10 km away
  2. 1.52 km NE of Corralitos, California · 16474 days ago · 10 km deep · 37 km away
  3. 1.824 km ENE of Soledad, California · 16474 days ago · 3 km deep · 49 km away
  4. 2.027 km E of Tres Pinos, California · 16474 days ago · 7 km deep · 42 km away
  5. 1.79 km SE of Livermore, California · 16475 days ago · 8 km deep · 96 km away
  6. 1.922 km ENE of Soledad, California · 16475 days ago · 3 km deep · 42 km away
  7. 1.92 km NE of Ridgemark, California · 16476 days ago · 7 km deep · 13 km away
  8. 1.612 km WNW of Davenport, California · 16477 days ago · 4 km deep · 81 km away
  9. 2.123 km ENE of Soledad, California · 16477 days ago · 5 km deep · 49 km away
  10. 2.311 km SE of Sunol, California · 16478 days ago · 3 km deep · 87 km away
  11. 1.511 km S of Tres Pinos, California · 16478 days ago · 2 km deep · 17 km away
  12. 1.52 km ESE of Tres Pinos, California · 16478 days ago · 8 km deep · 17 km away
  13. 1.726 km WSW of Three Rocks, California · 16478 days ago · 9 km deep · 80 km away
  14. 2.94 km W of San Juan Bautista, California · 16479 days ago · 6 km deep · 12 km away
  15. 1.65 km WSW of Gilroy, California · 16479 days ago · 4 km deep · 25 km away
  16. 2.63 km ESE of Tres Pinos, California · 16480 days ago · 8 km deep · 17 km away
  17. 4.22 km ESE of Tres Pinos, California · 16480 days ago · 9 km deep · 17 km away
  18. 1.76 km SE of Lexington Hills, California · 16480 days ago · 11 km deep · 55 km away
  19. 1.612 km ESE of East Foothills, California · 16481 days ago · 5 km deep · 64 km away
  20. 1.6Northern California · 16481 days ago · 13 km deep · 54 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1066969. Read Sun, Sep 27, 2026, 12:54 AM UTC.