California earthquakes

M1.7 earthquake 6 km WSW of Cobb, California

A magnitude 1.7 earthquake struck 6 km WSW of Cobb, California on Wed, May 20, 1981, 11:37 PM PDT (06:37 UTC), 1 km (1 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.5 9 km ESE of Willits, California. This one was a foreshock.

Cobb 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
1.7 (Md, duration), micro
Magnitude from
Northern California Seismic System
Local time
UTC
1981-05-21 06:37:55 UTC
Depth
1.0 km (0.6 mi), shallow
Epicenter
38.807° N, 122.796° 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, 0.3 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.08
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
46°
Stations used
15

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 117 in the 60 days after this one and 67 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.74 km WSW of Cobb, California · 16572 days ago · 4 km deep · 2 km away
  2. 2.27 km W of Cobb, California · 16572 days ago · 3 km deep · 1 km away
  3. 1.76 km W of Cobb, California · 16571 days ago · 1 km deep · 0 km away
  4. 2.021 km ENE of Potter Valley, California · 16570 days ago · 6 km deep · 63 km away
  5. 2.22 km NNE of Upper Lake, California · 16570 days ago · 0 km deep · 42 km away
  6. 1.82 km SE of Clear Lake Riviera, California · 16569 days ago · 4 km deep · 17 km away
  7. 1.55 km WSW of Cobb, California · 16569 days ago · 2 km deep · 1 km away
  8. 2.511 km N of Cloverdale, California · 16569 days ago · 3 km deep · 20 km away
  9. 1.710 km NNE of Cloverdale, California · 16569 days ago · 3 km deep · 19 km away
  10. 1.78 km WSW of Cobb, California · 16566 days ago · 1 km deep · 2 km away
  11. 1.86 km WSW of Cobb, California · 16566 days ago · 3 km deep · 0 km away
  12. 1.69 km E of Hidden Valley Lake, California · 16565 days ago · 7 km deep · 30 km away
  13. 1.95 km WSW of Cobb, California · 16565 days ago · -1 km deep · 1 km away
  14. 2.122 km NE of Potter Valley, California · 16565 days ago · 8 km deep · 74 km away
  15. 1.94 km SSW of Lagunitas-Forest Knolls, California · 16565 days ago · 0 km deep · 92 km away
  16. 2.06 km W of Cobb, California · 16565 days ago · 2 km deep · 2 km away
  17. 2.16 km W of Cobb, California · 16564 days ago · 0 km deep · 1 km away
  18. 1.98 km ENE of Larkfield-Wikiup, California · 16564 days ago · 6 km deep · 33 km away
  19. 2.76 km W of Cobb, California · 16563 days ago · 1 km deep · 1 km away
  20. 2.46 km WSW of Cobb, California · 16563 days ago · 1 km deep · 0 km away
  21. 2.14 km S of Cobb, California · 16563 days ago · 0 km deep · 7 km away
  22. 1.67 km WSW of Cobb, California · 16563 days ago · 1 km deep · 2 km away
  23. 1.69 km WSW of Cobb, California · 16563 days ago · -1 km deep · 3 km away
  24. 1.79 km ENE of Hidden Valley Lake, California · 16562 days ago · 7 km deep · 30 km away
  25. 1.83 km ESE of Clear Lake Riviera, California · 16562 days ago · -1 km deep · 18 km away
  26. 1.58 km NW of Redwood Valley, California · 16562 days ago · 5 km deep · 70 km away
  27. 1.66 km W of Cobb, California · 16562 days ago · 2 km deep · 1 km away
  28. 2.015 km NNW of Guinda, California · 16560 days ago · 9 km deep · 51 km away
  29. 3.59 km ESE of Willits, California · 16558 days ago · 9 km deep · 76 km away
  30. 1.69 km ESE of Willits, California · 16558 days ago · 8 km deep · 76 km away
  31. 1.79 km E of Hidden Valley Lake, California · 16558 days ago · 7 km deep · 30 km away
  32. 1.78 km WSW of Cobb, California · 16557 days ago · 3 km deep · 2 km away
  33. 2.26 km WSW of Calistoga, California · 16556 days ago · 5 km deep · 31 km away
  34. 2.114 km NNW of Guinda, California · 16556 days ago · 8 km deep · 50 km away
  35. 1.69 km WSW of Cobb, California · 16556 days ago · 2 km deep · 3 km away
  36. 2.111 km SSE of Comptche, California · 16554 days ago · 3 km deep · 78 km away
  37. 2.56 km WSW of Cobb, California · 16554 days ago · 4 km deep · 0 km away
  38. 1.85 km WSW of Cobb, California · 16552 days ago · 1 km deep · 2 km away
  39. 2.39 km WSW of Cobb, California · 16552 days ago · 2 km deep · 3 km away
  40. 1.612 km N of Brooktrails, California · 16552 days ago · 8 km deep · 96 km away
  41. 1.95 km NNE of Brooktrails, California · 16551 days ago · 7 km deep · 90 km away
  42. 1.74 km S of Cobb, California · 16551 days ago · 1 km deep · 7 km away
  43. 2.15 km SW of Cobb, California · 16548 days ago · 1 km deep · 3 km away
  44. 1.724 km WNW of Elk Creek, California · 16548 days ago · 5 km deep · 95 km away
  45. 1.6Northern California · 16548 days ago · 1 km deep · 2 km away
  46. 1.73 km E of Windsor, California · 16547 days ago · 4 km deep · 29 km away
  47. 2.18 km W of Cobb, California · 16547 days ago · 1 km deep · 2 km away
  48. 1.86 km W of Cobb, California · 16547 days ago · 3 km deep · 1 km away
  49. 1.75 km SW of Cobb, California · 16546 days ago · -1 km deep · 3 km away
  50. 1.76 km W of Cobb, California · 16545 days ago · 4 km deep · 1 km away
  51. 2.35 km SW of Cobb, CA · 16543 days ago · -1 km deep · 4 km away
  52. 1.76 km W of Lower Lake, California · 16543 days ago · 3 km deep · 14 km away
  53. 2.57 km WSW of Cobb, California · 16543 days ago · 1 km deep · 0 km away
  54. 1.67 km WSW of Cobb, California · 16543 days ago · 3 km deep · 1 km away
  55. 1.66 km W of Cobb, California · 16541 days ago · 4 km deep · 1 km away
  56. 1.65 km NNE of Rohnert Park, California · 16541 days ago · 16 km deep · 48 km away
  57. 3.518 km WSW of Williams, California · 16540 days ago · 12 km deep · 50 km away
  58. 1.66 km W of Cobb, California · 16540 days ago · 0 km deep · 1 km away
  59. 1.66 km W of Cobb, California · 16540 days ago · 1 km deep · 1 km away
  60. 2.421 km WSW of Williams, California · 16540 days ago · -1 km deep · 47 km away

The first 60 of 117.

Before

  1. 1.86 km W of Cobb, California · 16573 days ago · 2 km deep · 0 km away
  2. 1.97 km WSW of Cobb, California · 16573 days ago · 2 km deep · 1 km away
  3. 1.512 km E of Angwin, California · 16574 days ago · 5 km deep · 49 km away
  4. 2.216 km SSE of Sea Ranch, California · 16574 days ago · 1 km deep · 58 km away
  5. 1.64 km WSW of Cobb, California · 16574 days ago · 2 km deep · 2 km away
  6. 1.57 km WSW of Cobb, California · 16574 days ago · 2 km deep · 1 km away
  7. 1.83 km E of Clear Lake Riviera, California · 16575 days ago · 3 km deep · 19 km away
  8. 1.53 km E of Clear Lake Riviera, California · 16575 days ago · -1 km deep · 19 km away
  9. 1.63 km ENE of Clear Lake Riviera, California · 16575 days ago · 3 km deep · 20 km away
  10. 2.37 km WSW of Cobb, California · 16575 days ago · 4 km deep · 1 km away
  11. 2.04 km WSW of Cobb, California · 16577 days ago · 2 km deep · 2 km away
  12. 1.714 km SW of Guinda, California · 16579 days ago · 5 km deep · 43 km away
  13. 2.313 km WSW of Esparto, California · 16579 days ago · 4 km deep · 57 km away
  14. 2.314 km S of Guinda, California · 16579 days ago · 4 km deep · 51 km away
  15. 1.86 km ENE of Brooktrails, California · 16580 days ago · 7 km deep · 86 km away
  16. 2.011 km E of Geyserville, California · 16580 days ago · 6 km deep · 11 km away
  17. 2.16 km NE of Hidden Valley Lake, California · 16580 days ago · 57 km deep · 26 km away
  18. 1.916 km WSW of Williams, California · 16581 days ago · 2 km deep · 52 km away
  19. 1.75 km WSW of Lower Lake, California · 16581 days ago · 4 km deep · 15 km away
  20. 1.77 km N of Hopland, California · 16582 days ago · 6 km deep · 37 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1063857. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 10:19 PM UTC.