California earthquakes

M1.5 earthquake 0 km E of Ferndale, California

A magnitude 1.5 earthquake struck 0 km E of Ferndale, California on Mon, Sep 21, 1981, 12:11 AM PDT (07:11 UTC), 5 km (3 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.4 35 km SSW of Ferndale, 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
1981-09-21 07:11:51 UTC
Depth
4.8 km (3.0 mi), shallow
Epicenter
40.575° N, 124.253° 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 1.7 km horizontally, 0.9 km in depth
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
242°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
4

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 188 in the 60 days after this one and 11 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 3.435 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 16437 days ago · 12 km deep · 36 km away
  2. 2.641 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16437 days ago · 26 km deep · 42 km away
  3. 3.336 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16437 days ago · 27 km deep · 37 km away
  4. 2.340 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16437 days ago · 28 km deep · 41 km away
  5. 1.941 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16434 days ago · 30 km deep · 42 km away
  6. 3.041 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16432 days ago · 20 km deep · 43 km away
  7. 3.243 km WNW of Shelter Cove, California · 16432 days ago · 0 km deep · 53 km away
  8. 2.118 km WSW of Scotia, California · 16432 days ago · 30 km deep · 20 km away
  9. 2.034 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16432 days ago · 30 km deep · 35 km away
  10. 1.630 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 16432 days ago · 32 km deep · 31 km away
  11. 2.337 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16431 days ago · 26 km deep · 38 km away
  12. 1.632 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16431 days ago · 34 km deep · 33 km away
  13. 2.936 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16431 days ago · 23 km deep · 37 km away
  14. 1.540 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16431 days ago · 24 km deep · 41 km away
  15. 2.137 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16430 days ago · 28 km deep · 38 km away
  16. 1.530 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 16430 days ago · 29 km deep · 31 km away
  17. 2.511 km SE of Blue Lake, California · 16429 days ago · 25 km deep · 39 km away
  18. 2.511 km SSE of Blue Lake, California · 16429 days ago · 26 km deep · 38 km away
  19. 1.838 km W of Ferndale, California · 16428 days ago · 20 km deep · 39 km away
  20. 2.239 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16427 days ago · 29 km deep · 40 km away
  21. 2.037 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16426 days ago · 32 km deep · 38 km away
  22. 2.138 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16426 days ago · 27 km deep · 39 km away
  23. 1.83 km S of Humboldt Hill, California · 16426 days ago · 17 km deep · 14 km away
  24. 2.356 km W of Indianola, California · 16426 days ago · 24 km deep · 59 km away
  25. 2.52 km NE of Redway, California · 16425 days ago · 19 km deep · 62 km away
  26. 2.822 km WSW of Weott, California · 16425 days ago · 7 km deep · 39 km away
  27. 2.034 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16425 days ago · 27 km deep · 35 km away
  28. 2.14 km SW of Big Lagoon, California · 16424 days ago · 13 km deep · 62 km away
  29. 1.65 km S of Ferndale, California · 16424 days ago · 26 km deep · 5 km away
  30. 1.925 km SSW of Ferndale, CA · 16424 days ago · 15 km deep · 25 km away
  31. 2.475 km W of Indianola, California · 16424 days ago · 7 km deep · 76 km away
  32. 1.540 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16424 days ago · 30 km deep · 42 km away
  33. 1.534 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16424 days ago · 34 km deep · 35 km away
  34. 2.714 km WSW of Scotia, California · 16423 days ago · 28 km deep · 15 km away
  35. 1.636 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16423 days ago · 34 km deep · 37 km away
  36. 3.337 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16423 days ago · 25 km deep · 38 km away
  37. 1.837 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16423 days ago · 23 km deep · 38 km away
  38. 1.738 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16423 days ago · 23 km deep · 39 km away
  39. 2.376 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16423 days ago · 4 km deep · 78 km away
  40. 2.112 km WSW of Weott, California · 16423 days ago · 4 km deep · 38 km away
  41. 3.310 km SW of Mad River, California · 16423 days ago · 22 km deep · 61 km away
  42. 2.565 km W of Indianola, California · 16423 days ago · 5 km deep · 67 km away
  43. 3.210 km SSW of Mad River, California · 16422 days ago · 21 km deep · 62 km away
  44. 2.410 km SSW of Mad River, California · 16422 days ago · 20 km deep · 63 km away
  45. 1.634 km SW of Scotia, California · 16422 days ago · 18 km deep · 36 km away
  46. 1.643 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16422 days ago · 21 km deep · 44 km away
  47. 1.79 km S of Ferndale, California · 16422 days ago · 22 km deep · 9 km away
  48. 2.07 km W of Rio Dell, California · 16421 days ago · 21 km deep · 10 km away
  49. 2.541 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16421 days ago · 25 km deep · 42 km away
  50. 2.282 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16421 days ago · 5 km deep · 83 km away
  51. 1.835 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16421 days ago · 28 km deep · 36 km away
  52. 1.94 km N of Redway, California · 16420 days ago · 20 km deep · 59 km away
  53. 3.037 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16419 days ago · 27 km deep · 38 km away
  54. 2.170 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16419 days ago · 5 km deep · 71 km away
  55. 1.733 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16419 days ago · 35 km deep · 34 km away
  56. 1.736 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16418 days ago · 26 km deep · 37 km away
  57. 1.779 km W of Ferndale, California · 16418 days ago · 5 km deep · 80 km away
  58. 1.810 km SW of Trinity Village, California · 16418 days ago · 22 km deep · 60 km away
  59. 1.535 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 16417 days ago · 23 km deep · 36 km away
  60. 1.738 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16417 days ago · 37 km deep · 39 km away

The first 60 of 188.

Before

  1. 2.028 km SW of Scotia, California · 16439 days ago · 8 km deep · 34 km away
  2. 2.045 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16439 days ago · 24 km deep · 46 km away
  3. 2.333 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16439 days ago · 28 km deep · 34 km away
  4. 1.726 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16439 days ago · 25 km deep · 27 km away
  5. 1.749 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16439 days ago · 5 km deep · 50 km away
  6. 2.117 km WNW of Indianola, California · 16440 days ago · 24 km deep · 24 km away
  7. 3.337 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16440 days ago · 28 km deep · 38 km away
  8. 1.73 km SE of Scotia, California · 16440 days ago · 26 km deep · 20 km away
  9. 1.710 km W of Scotia, California · 16440 days ago · 22 km deep · 12 km away
  10. 1.914 km S of Scotia, California · 16441 days ago · 31 km deep · 27 km away
  11. 1.937 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16441 days ago · 28 km deep · 38 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1067813. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:28 PM UTC.