California earthquakes

M3.8 earthquake 71 km WSW of Ferndale, California

A magnitude 3.8 earthquake struck 71 km WSW of Ferndale, California on Sat, Jun 20, 1981, 6:32 AM PDT (13:32 UTC), 0 km (0 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.0 36 km SSW of Ferndale, California. This one was a foreshock.

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Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
3.8 (md), minor
Local time
UTC
1981-06-20 13:32:27 UTC
Depth
-0.5 km (-0.3 mi), shallow
Epicenter
40.404° N, 125.080° 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, 5.4 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.19
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
265°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
35

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 128 in the 60 days after this one and 71 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 128.

Before

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1064716. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:45 PM UTC.