California earthquakes

M2.9 earthquake 39 km SW of Ferndale, CA

A magnitude 2.9 earthquake struck 39 km SW of Ferndale, CA on Fri, Oct 16, 1981, 7:20 AM PDT (14:20 UTC), 25 km (16 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.5 93 km WSW 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
2.9 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-10-16 14:20:06 UTC
Depth
25.5 km (15.8 mi), shallow
Epicenter
40.325° N, 124.590° 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 1.5 km horizontally, 2.1 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.13
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
254°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
17

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 146 in the 60 days after this one and 53 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.633 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16411 days ago · 23 km deep · 8 km away
  2. 3.593 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16411 days ago · 5 km deep · 64 km away
  3. 2.3108 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16411 days ago · 4 km deep · 78 km away
  4. 1.615 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16411 days ago · 24 km deep · 25 km away
  5. 1.643 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16411 days ago · 32 km deep · 8 km away
  6. 2.550 km WNW of Ferndale, California · 16411 days ago · 3 km deep · 48 km away
  7. 1.628 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16411 days ago · 25 km deep · 11 km away
  8. 1.814 km WNW of Samoa, California · 16410 days ago · 25 km deep · 62 km away
  9. 1.518 km SW of Scotia, California · 16410 days ago · 22 km deep · 29 km away
  10. 1.641 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16410 days ago · 20 km deep · 2 km away
  11. 2.036 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 16410 days ago · 21 km deep · 8 km away
  12. 1.96 km SE of Ferndale, California · 16409 days ago · 11 km deep · 41 km away
  13. 1.822 km WSW of Weott, California · 16409 days ago · 4 km deep · 38 km away
  14. 1.638 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16409 days ago · 31 km deep · 14 km away
  15. 2.6110 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16408 days ago · 4 km deep · 80 km away
  16. 1.539 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 16407 days ago · 25 km deep · 10 km away
  17. 2.134 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 16407 days ago · 25 km deep · 9 km away
  18. 3.0101 km W of Ferndale, California · 16407 days ago · 8 km deep · 77 km away
  19. 1.850 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16407 days ago · 30 km deep · 24 km away
  20. 1.718 km W of Ferndale, California · 16407 days ago · 22 km deep · 27 km away
  21. 1.562 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16407 days ago · 5 km deep · 25 km away
  22. 1.640 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 16406 days ago · 25 km deep · 9 km away
  23. 1.837 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16406 days ago · 24 km deep · 7 km away
  24. 2.936 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 16405 days ago · 12 km deep · 10 km away
  25. 2.015 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 16405 days ago · 23 km deep · 25 km away
  26. 2.416 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 16405 days ago · 23 km deep · 24 km away
  27. 2.966 km W of Indianola, California · 16405 days ago · 5 km deep · 62 km away
  28. 2.256 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16404 days ago · 23 km deep · 23 km away
  29. 2.619 km WSW of Scotia, California · 16404 days ago · 26 km deep · 25 km away
  30. 3.136 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16404 days ago · 28 km deep · 4 km away
  31. 1.730 km W of Trinidad, California · 16403 days ago · 3 km deep · 85 km away
  32. 3.837 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16403 days ago · 28 km deep · 2 km away
  33. 2.936 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16403 days ago · 27 km deep · 4 km away
  34. 1.837 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16403 days ago · 28 km deep · 2 km away
  35. 2.419 km W of Big Lagoon, California · 16402 days ago · 27 km deep · 95 km away
  36. 1.632 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16402 days ago · 39 km deep · 8 km away
  37. 2.532 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16402 days ago · 26 km deep · 11 km away
  38. 1.64 km WSW of Redcrest, California · 16402 days ago · 35 km deep · 51 km away
  39. 2.01 km NE of Bayview, California · 16402 days ago · 11 km deep · 62 km away
  40. 2.136 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16401 days ago · 33 km deep · 4 km away
  41. 1.945 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16401 days ago · 20 km deep · 6 km away
  42. 2.834 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16400 days ago · 35 km deep · 7 km away
  43. 1.739 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16400 days ago · 23 km deep · 1 km away
  44. 1.617 km WNW of Indianola, California · 16400 days ago · 25 km deep · 48 km away
  45. 1.643 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16400 days ago · 18 km deep · 4 km away
  46. 2.415 km W of Samoa, California · 16399 days ago · 23 km deep · 57 km away
  47. 2.911 km W of Ferndale, California · 16399 days ago · 22 km deep · 32 km away
  48. 2.635 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16399 days ago · 25 km deep · 4 km away
  49. 3.236 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16399 days ago · 28 km deep · 4 km away
  50. 1.638 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16399 days ago · 25 km deep · 4 km away
  51. 1.659 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16399 days ago · 6 km deep · 22 km away
  52. 2.059 km W of Ferndale, California · 16399 days ago · 10 km deep · 38 km away
  53. 2.63 km SE of Fortuna, California · 16398 days ago · 20 km deep · 48 km away
  54. 1.738 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16398 days ago · 22 km deep · 4 km away
  55. 2.647 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16398 days ago · 21 km deep · 11 km away
  56. 1.517 km W of Ferndale, California · 16398 days ago · 22 km deep · 29 km away
  57. 3.038 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16398 days ago · 29 km deep · 1 km away
  58. 3.036 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16397 days ago · 28 km deep · 4 km away
  59. 1.718 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16397 days ago · 22 km deep · 21 km away
  60. 1.826 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16397 days ago · 18 km deep · 13 km away

The first 60 of 146.

Before

  1. 2.436 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16412 days ago · 27 km deep · 4 km away
  2. 2.13 km NE of Redway, California · 16414 days ago · 20 km deep · 70 km away
  3. 1.754 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16414 days ago · 30 km deep · 18 km away
  4. 2.461 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16414 days ago · 5 km deep · 32 km away
  5. 1.737 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 16414 days ago · 19 km deep · 13 km away
  6. 1.620 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 16414 days ago · 4 km deep · 22 km away
  7. 1.58 km SW of Scotia, California · 16414 days ago · 31 km deep · 38 km away
  8. 3.336 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16415 days ago · 28 km deep · 3 km away
  9. 1.59 km W of Ferndale, California · 16415 days ago · 22 km deep · 35 km away
  10. 2.243 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16415 days ago · 17 km deep · 4 km away
  11. 1.618 km WSW of Scotia, California · 16416 days ago · 28 km deep · 27 km away
  12. 2.517 km WSW of Scotia, California · 16416 days ago · 28 km deep · 27 km away
  13. 1.738 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16416 days ago · 37 km deep · 3 km away
  14. 1.535 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 16417 days ago · 23 km deep · 10 km away
  15. 1.810 km SW of Trinity Village, California · 16417 days ago · 22 km deep · 99 km away
  16. 1.779 km W of Ferndale, California · 16417 days ago · 5 km deep · 55 km away
  17. 1.736 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16418 days ago · 26 km deep · 5 km away
  18. 1.733 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16419 days ago · 35 km deep · 8 km away
  19. 2.170 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16419 days ago · 5 km deep · 40 km away
  20. 3.037 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16419 days ago · 27 km deep · 3 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1068671. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 12:12 PM UTC.