California earthquakes

M4.6 earthquake 58 km WSW of Ferndale, California

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 58 km WSW of Ferndale, California on Tue, May 26, 1981, 4:41 AM PDT (11:41 UTC), 2 km (1 mi) below the surface.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 4.6 (ml), light
Local time: Tue, May 26, 1981, 4:41 AM PDT
UTC: 1981-05-26 11:41:04 UTC
Depth: 1.9 km (1.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 40.370° N, 124.904° W
Region: California
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 3.9 km horizontally, 6.4 km in depth
Depth from: From location
Station coverage gap: 253°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used: 60

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.6 and up: 156 in the 60 days after this one and 43 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 156.

Before

Earthquakes today California earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1064017 (also filed as ushis3717, usp0001dvv). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 7:27 AM UTC.