California earthquakes

M3.0 earthquake 37 km SW of Ferndale, California

A magnitude 3.0 earthquake struck 37 km SW of Ferndale, California on Tue, Aug 18, 1981, 6:27 PM PDT (01:27 UTC), 28 km (17 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.2 33 km SW of Scotia, 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
3.0 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-08-19 01:27:23 UTC
Depth
27.6 km (17.1 mi), shallow
Epicenter
40.329° N, 124.562° 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 1.4 km horizontally, 1.0 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.12
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
247°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
26

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 167 in the 60 days after this one and 32 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 167.

Before

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1066905. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:39 PM UTC.