California earthquakes

M2.2 earthquake 56 km WSW of Ferndale, California

A magnitude 2.2 earthquake struck 56 km WSW of Ferndale, California on Fri, Oct 23, 1981, 6:50 PM PDT (01:50 UTC), 23 km (14 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.6 19 km WSW of Scotia, 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.

Open the live map with earthquakes

The earthquake

Magnitude
2.2 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-10-24 01:50:27 UTC
Depth
23.1 km (14.4 mi), shallow
Epicenter
40.347° N, 124.863° 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, 7.5 km in depth
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
288°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
6

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 132 in the 60 days after this one and 67 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 132.

Before

Earthquakes todayCalifornia earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1068866. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:17 AM UTC.