M1.6 earthquake 19 km N of Chester, California

Magnitude

1.6 (md), micro

Local time

Sun, Aug 16, 1981, 11:15 PM PDT

UTC

1981-08-17 06:15:37 UTC

Depth

-0.4 km (-0.2 mi), shallow

Epicenter

40.483° N, 121.194° W

Region

California

Tsunami flag

No

Status

Reviewed by a seismologist

Location uncertainty

About 6.2 km horizontally, 3.0 km in depth

Magnitude uncertainty

±0.16

Depth from

From location

Station coverage gap

284°, poorly surrounded by stations

Stations used

4

• Chester, CaliforniaPopulation 2,144. Forecast20 kmN
• Susanville, CaliforniaPopulation 15,247. Forecast46 kmW
• Chico, CaliforniaPopulation 121,345. Forecast100 kmNNE
• Los Angeles, CaliforniaPopulation 3,820,914. Forecast761 kmNNW

After

1. 1.9Northern CaliforniaSat, Aug 22, 11:28 AM PDT · 16467 days ago · 3 km deep · 16 km away
2. 1.711 km NNE of Shingletown, CaliforniaThu, Aug 27, 3:28 PM PDT · 16462 days ago · 1 km deep · 58 km away
3. 3.13 km WSW of Spring Garden, CaliforniaSat, Aug 29, 11:57 AM PDT · 16460 days ago · 0 km deep · 73 km away
4. 2.52 km ESE of Prattville, CaliforniaWed, Sep 9, 2:42 PM PDT · 16449 days ago · 2 km deep · 32 km away
5. 3.02 km ENE of Prattville, CaliforniaWed, Sep 9, 9:06 PM PDT · 16449 days ago · 12 km deep · 30 km away
6. 2.81 km ENE of Lake Almanor West, CaliforniaThu, Sep 10, 2:22 AM PDT · 16448 days ago · 2 km deep · 27 km away
7. 2.511 km NE of Cromberg, CaliforniaTue, Sep 15, 12:50 AM PDT · 16444 days ago · 5 km deep · 80 km away
8. 1.77 km SE of Mineral, CaliforniaTue, Sep 29, 8:45 AM PDT · 16429 days ago · -1 km deep · 37 km away
9. 3.29 km NNE of Millville, CaliforniaSat, Oct 10, 5:13 AM PDT · 16418 days ago · 3 km deep · 80 km away
10. 2.26 km WSW of Paradise, CaliforniaMon, Oct 12, 7:17 AM PDT · 16416 days ago · 16 km deep · 93 km away
11. 1.510 km NE of Mineral, CaliforniaTue, Oct 13, 5:07 PM PDT · 16415 days ago · -2 km deep · 27 km away

Before

1. 1.712 km ENE of Shingletown, CaliforniaSun, Aug 16, 6:30 PM PDT · 16473 days ago · 7 km deep · 48 km away
2. 1.710 km SE of Mineral, CaliforniaSun, Aug 16, 8:50 AM PDT · 16473 days ago · 2 km deep · 33 km away
3. 2.30 km NW of Chester, CaliforniaWed, Aug 12, 11:31 PM PDT · 16477 days ago · 2 km deep · 19 km away
4. 1.615 km NNE of Butte Meadows, CaliforniaSun, Aug 9, 4:28 AM PDT · 16480 days ago · 3 km deep · 39 km away
5. 1.97 km ESE of Los Molinos, CaliforniaFri, Aug 7, 11:02 AM PDT · 16482 days ago · 3 km deep · 89 km away
6. 1.9Northern CaliforniaThu, Aug 6, 1:24 AM PDT · 16484 days ago · 13 km deep · 64 km away
7. 1.6Northern CaliforniaTue, Aug 4, 3:16 PM PDT · 16485 days ago · 3 km deep · 26 km away
8. 2.02 km ESE of Chester, CaliforniaMon, Aug 3, 11:02 PM PDT · 16486 days ago · 5 km deep · 20 km away
9. 2.01 km ENE of Chester, CaliforniaMon, Aug 3, 9:17 PM PDT · 16486 days ago · 7 km deep · 19 km away
10. 1.830 km NNW of McArthur, CaliforniaSun, Aug 2, 11:19 PM PDT · 16487 days ago · 10 km deep · 95 km away
11. 2.27 km NE of Montgomery Creek, CaliforniaSun, Jul 26, 12:21 PM PDT · 16494 days ago · 7 km deep · 72 km away
12. 2.010 km W of Lake Almanor West, CaliforniaSat, Jul 25, 8:48 AM PDT · 16495 days ago · 3 km deep · 29 km away
13. 2.75 km ESE of Chico, CaliforniaThu, Jul 23, 5:08 AM PDT · 16497 days ago · 19 km deep · 99 km away
14. 1.93 km SW of East Shore, CaliforniaWed, Jul 22, 12:38 AM PDT · 16499 days ago · 1 km deep · 31 km away
15. 1.66 km NW of Plumas Eureka (historical), CaliforniaTue, Jul 21, 9:28 PM PDT · 16499 days ago · 1 km deep · 85 km away
16. 2.0Northern CaliforniaMon, Jul 20, 8:51 PM PDT · 16500 days ago · 13 km deep · 93 km away
17. 1.82 km NE of Canyondam, CaliforniaMon, Jul 20, 9:14 AM PDT · 16500 days ago · 2 km deep · 35 km away
18. 1.8Northern CaliforniaMon, Jul 20, 9:13 AM PDT · 16500 days ago · 9 km deep · 73 km away
19. 2.913 km E of Bend, CaliforniaMon, Jul 20, 2:09 AM PDT · 16501 days ago · 24 km deep · 77 km away

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1066840. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:47 PM UTC.