California earthquakes

M4.0 earthquake 36 km SSW of Ferndale, California

A magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck 36 km SSW of Ferndale, California on Sat, Jun 20, 1981, 11:20 PM PDT (06:20 UTC), 22 km (14 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.6 23 km WSW of Weott, 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
4.0 (ml), light
Local time
UTC
1981-06-21 06:20:39 UTC
Depth
22.3 km (13.9 mi), shallow
Epicenter
40.294° N, 124.484° 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 1.3 km horizontally, 0.6 km in depth
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
241°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
31

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 137 in the 60 days after this one and 62 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 137.

Before

Earthquakes todayCalifornia earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1064735 (also filed as usp0001e91). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:39 PM UTC.