California earthquakes

M2.7 earthquake 5 km ESE of Chico, California

A magnitude 2.7 earthquake struck 5 km ESE of Chico, California on Thu, Jul 23, 1981, 5:08 AM PDT (12:08 UTC), 19 km (12 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.9 1 km ENE of Clipper Mills, California. This one was a foreshock.

Chico 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
2.7 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-07-23 12:08:37 UTC
Depth
19.1 km (11.9 mi), shallow
Epicenter
39.718° N, 121.779° 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 0.5 km horizontally, 1.0 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.13
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
101°
Stations used
23

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 26 in the 60 days after this one and 29 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 2.56 km SSE of Dunnigan, California · 16496 days ago · 10 km deep · 100 km away
  2. 2.010 km W of Lake Almanor West, California · 16495 days ago · 3 km deep · 70 km away
  3. 1.94 km SE of Palermo, California · 16494 days ago · 6 km deep · 42 km away
  4. 2.322 km WNW of Elk Creek, California · 16492 days ago · 7 km deep · 87 km away
  5. 1.86 km WSW of Durham, California · 16488 days ago · 29 km deep · 14 km away
  6. 2.91 km ENE of Clipper Mills, California · 16488 days ago · 8 km deep · 58 km away
  7. 2.01 km ENE of Chester, California · 16486 days ago · 7 km deep · 82 km away
  8. 2.02 km ESE of Chester, California · 16486 days ago · 5 km deep · 81 km away
  9. 1.6Northern California · 16485 days ago · 3 km deep · 73 km away
  10. 1.97 km ESE of Los Molinos, California · 16482 days ago · 3 km deep · 37 km away
  11. 1.615 km NNE of Butte Meadows, California · 16480 days ago · 3 km deep · 61 km away
  12. 2.30 km NW of Chester, California · 16477 days ago · 2 km deep · 80 km away
  13. 1.710 km SE of Mineral, California · 16473 days ago · 2 km deep · 68 km away
  14. 1.712 km ENE of Shingletown, California · 16473 days ago · 7 km deep · 93 km away
  15. 1.619 km N of Chester, California · 16473 days ago · 0 km deep · 99 km away
  16. 1.76 km SSE of Palermo, California · 16472 days ago · 1 km deep · 44 km away
  17. 1.51 km E of Oroville, California · 16470 days ago · 10 km deep · 31 km away
  18. 1.9Northern California · 16467 days ago · 3 km deep · 84 km away
  19. 1.711 km NNE of Shingletown, California · 16462 days ago · 1 km deep · 98 km away
  20. 3.13 km WSW of Spring Garden, California · 16460 days ago · 0 km deep · 84 km away
  21. 1.76 km SSW of Hamilton City, California · 16452 days ago · 19 km deep · 23 km away
  22. 2.14 km SE of Palermo, California · 16451 days ago · 6 km deep · 43 km away
  23. 2.52 km ESE of Prattville, California · 16449 days ago · 2 km deep · 77 km away
  24. 3.02 km ENE of Prattville, California · 16449 days ago · 12 km deep · 78 km away
  25. 2.81 km ENE of Lake Almanor West, California · 16449 days ago · 2 km deep · 77 km away
  26. 2.66 km NW of Paskenta, California · 16443 days ago · -1 km deep · 74 km away

Before

  1. 1.93 km SW of East Shore, California · 16499 days ago · 1 km deep · 80 km away
  2. 1.66 km NW of Plumas Eureka (historical), California · 16499 days ago · 1 km deep · 88 km away
  3. 1.82 km NE of Canyondam, California · 16500 days ago · 2 km deep · 81 km away
  4. 1.8Northern California · 16500 days ago · 9 km deep · 87 km away
  5. 1.52 km ESE of Nord, California · 16500 days ago · 14 km deep · 14 km away
  6. 2.913 km E of Bend, California · 16501 days ago · 24 km deep · 63 km away
  7. 2.86 km NNW of Thermalito, California · 16502 days ago · 2 km deep · 22 km away
  8. 2.3Northern California · 16502 days ago · 2 km deep · 22 km away
  9. 2.611 km NE of Nord, California · 16504 days ago · 21 km deep · 16 km away
  10. 2.54 km SE of Palermo, California · 16505 days ago · 7 km deep · 42 km away
  11. 1.50 km NW of Lake Almanor Country Club, California · 16505 days ago · 2 km deep · 80 km away
  12. 2.54 km SE of Palermo, California · 16506 days ago · 7 km deep · 43 km away
  13. 2.122 km WNW of Elk Creek, California · 16507 days ago · 6 km deep · 87 km away
  14. 2.03 km ESE of Palermo, California · 16507 days ago · 4 km deep · 41 km away
  15. 1.716 km NE of Mineral, California · 16510 days ago · 1 km deep · 87 km away
  16. 1.612 km WSW of Chester, California · 16511 days ago · 3 km deep · 71 km away
  17. 2.915 km NNE of Mineral, California · 16513 days ago · 0 km deep · 87 km away
  18. 2.514 km NNE of Mineral, California · 16513 days ago · 2 km deep · 86 km away
  19. 2.24 km W of Stonyford, California · 16517 days ago · 3 km deep · 80 km away
  20. 1.96 km W of Stonyford, California · 16517 days ago · 0 km deep · 82 km away

Earthquakes todayCalifornia earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1065859. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:29 PM UTC.