California earthquakes

M1.5 earthquake 21 km SW of Ferndale, California

A magnitude 1.5 earthquake struck 21 km SW of Ferndale, California on Thu, Jan 8, 1981, 4:30 AM PST (12:30 UTC), 17 km (11 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.6 1 km N of Willow Creek, California. This one was a foreshock.

Ferndale 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
1.5 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-01-08 12:30:57 UTC
Depth
17.1 km (10.6 mi), shallow
Epicenter
40.446° N, 124.456° 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 1.6 km horizontally, 0.8 km in depth
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
266°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
6

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 150 in the 60 days after this one and 117 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 3.014 km NE of Myers Flat, California · 16701 days ago · 1 km deep · 59 km away
  2. 1.613 km NE of Miranda, California · 16701 days ago · -1 km deep · 63 km away
  3. 2.814 km NE of Myers Flat, California · 16701 days ago · 1 km deep · 60 km away
  4. 2.114 km ENE of Weott, California · 16700 days ago · 2 km deep · 59 km away
  5. 1.99 km NW of Manila, California · 16700 days ago · 12 km deep · 54 km away
  6. 3.61 km N of Willow Creek, California · 16700 days ago · 40 km deep · 89 km away
  7. 1.649 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16700 days ago · 11 km deep · 27 km away
  8. 2.48 km NW of Manila, California · 16700 days ago · 14 km deep · 54 km away
  9. 2.215 km S of Mad River, California · 16700 days ago · 26 km deep · 81 km away
  10. 1.822 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16699 days ago · 24 km deep · 1 km away
  11. 2.222 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16699 days ago · 27 km deep · 2 km away
  12. 1.721 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16699 days ago · 25 km deep · 1 km away
  13. 1.99 km WNW of Manila, California · 16699 days ago · 1 km deep · 52 km away
  14. 2.92 km SSW of Bayview, California · 16699 days ago · -1 km deep · 41 km away
  15. 2.98 km WNW of Manila, California · 16699 days ago · 9 km deep · 52 km away
  16. 2.010 km SSE of Burnt Ranch, California · 16699 days ago · 28 km deep · 91 km away
  17. 1.722 km WNW of Manila, California · 16698 days ago · 4 km deep · 55 km away
  18. 2.110 km WNW of Manila, California · 16698 days ago · 2 km deep · 51 km away
  19. 2.748 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16697 days ago · 23 km deep · 28 km away
  20. 1.73 km WNW of Fortuna, California · 16697 days ago · 20 km deep · 28 km away
  21. 2.19 km E of Redcrest, California · 16697 days ago · 25 km deep · 52 km away
  22. 2.08 km WNW of Samoa, California · 16697 days ago · 19 km deep · 48 km away
  23. 2.564 km W of Ferndale, California · 16697 days ago · 5 km deep · 47 km away
  24. 2.442 km W of Indianola, California · 16696 days ago · 1 km deep · 39 km away
  25. 2.319 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16696 days ago · 23 km deep · 5 km away
  26. 2.444 km W of Trinidad, California · 16696 days ago · 10 km deep · 67 km away
  27. 2.77 km WSW of Scotia, California · 16695 days ago · -1 km deep · 24 km away
  28. 2.626 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 16695 days ago · 20 km deep · 10 km away
  29. 2.57 km WNW of Redcrest, California · 16695 days ago · 24 km deep · 36 km away
  30. 2.44 km WSW of McKinleyville, California · 16695 days ago · 11 km deep · 60 km away
  31. 2.440 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16695 days ago · 23 km deep · 18 km away
  32. 2.83 km NE of Ferndale, California · 16695 days ago · 73 km deep · 26 km away
  33. 2.4near the coast of Northern California · 16695 days ago · 5 km deep · 48 km away
  34. 1.513 km WSW of Redcrest, California · 16695 days ago · 4 km deep · 33 km away
  35. 1.63 km E of Garberville, California · 16695 days ago · 19 km deep · 70 km away
  36. 2.326 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16694 days ago · 18 km deep · 7 km away
  37. 2.16 km SSW of Scotia, California · 16694 days ago · 21 km deep · 27 km away
  38. 2.330 km W of Trinidad, California · 16694 days ago · 5 km deep · 69 km away
  39. 2.139 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16693 days ago · 21 km deep · 18 km away
  40. 2.19 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 16693 days ago · 5 km deep · 13 km away
  41. 2.160 km W of Ferndale, California · 16693 days ago · 3 km deep · 44 km away
  42. 2.527 km W of Trinidad, California · 16692 days ago · 20 km deep · 63 km away
  43. 2.031 km SW of Scotia, California · 16692 days ago · 20 km deep · 19 km away
  44. 1.545 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16691 days ago · 11 km deep · 25 km away
  45. 3.111 km WSW of Weott, California · 16691 days ago · 31 km deep · 38 km away
  46. 2.370 km W of Indianola, California · 16691 days ago · 4 km deep · 64 km away
  47. 2.310 km WSW of Weott, California · 16691 days ago · 31 km deep · 39 km away
  48. 2.10 km E of Rio Dell, California · 16691 days ago · 7 km deep · 31 km away
  49. 1.832 km SW of Scotia, California · 16691 days ago · 5 km deep · 17 km away
  50. 2.119 km SW of Scotia, California · 16690 days ago · 22 km deep · 18 km away
  51. 2.124 km NNW of Shelter Cove, California · 16690 days ago · 5 km deep · 33 km away
  52. 2.424 km NNW of Shelter Cove, California · 16690 days ago · 7 km deep · 33 km away
  53. 2.246 km WNW of Shelter Cove, California · 16690 days ago · 5 km deep · 30 km away
  54. 1.98 km ENE of Shelter Cove, California · 16690 days ago · 92 km deep · 60 km away
  55. 2.037 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16688 days ago · 11 km deep · 18 km away
  56. 1.623 km WSW of Weott, California · 16688 days ago · 6 km deep · 33 km away
  57. 2.410 km WNW of Manila, California · 16687 days ago · 11 km deep · 52 km away
  58. 2.213 km W of Trinidad, California · 16687 days ago · 15 km deep · 67 km away
  59. 2.215 km W of Trinidad, California · 16687 days ago · 16 km deep · 68 km away
  60. 3.128 km WNW of Trinidad, California · 16686 days ago · 14 km deep · 74 km away

The first 60 of 150.

Before

  1. 1.551 km WNW of Indianola, California · 16701 days ago · 4 km deep · 49 km away
  2. 3.035 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16701 days ago · 26 km deep · 15 km away
  3. 1.625 km NNW of Shelter Cove, California · 16702 days ago · 1 km deep · 31 km away
  4. 2.538 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16702 days ago · 21 km deep · 17 km away
  5. 1.83 km WNW of Fieldbrook, California · 16703 days ago · 4 km deep · 68 km away
  6. 1.51 km NW of Fields Landing, California · 16703 days ago · 20 km deep · 37 km away
  7. 2.5112 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16703 days ago · 4 km deep · 94 km away
  8. 3.110 km SSE of Ferndale, California · 16703 days ago · 22 km deep · 20 km away
  9. 2.543 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16703 days ago · 23 km deep · 21 km away
  10. 2.732 km W of Big Lagoon, California · 16704 days ago · 30 km deep · 79 km away
  11. 3.338 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16704 days ago · 25 km deep · 17 km away
  12. 2.19 km SSE of Scotia, California · 16704 days ago · 20 km deep · 34 km away
  13. 2.030 km W of Big Lagoon, California · 16705 days ago · 15 km deep · 77 km away
  14. 3.414 km ESE of Pine Hills, California · 16705 days ago · 4 km deep · 49 km away
  15. 3.738 km W of Trinidad, California · 16705 days ago · 12 km deep · 72 km away
  16. 2.319 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16706 days ago · 22 km deep · 5 km away
  17. 2.092 km W of Ferndale, California · 16706 days ago · 10 km deep · 77 km away
  18. 3.237 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16707 days ago · 22 km deep · 16 km away
  19. 1.645 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16707 days ago · 24 km deep · 24 km away
  20. 2.128 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 16707 days ago · 14 km deep · 14 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1059014. Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 11:50 AM UTC.