California earthquakes

M1.5 earthquake 29 km SSW of Ferndale, California

A magnitude 1.5 earthquake struck 29 km SSW of Ferndale, California on Tue, Nov 10, 1981, 11:38 PM PST (07:38 UTC), 31 km (19 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.9 near the coast of Northern 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
1.5 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-11-11 07:38:06 UTC
Depth
30.9 km (19.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter
40.342° N, 124.428° 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 2.4 km horizontally, 1.1 km in depth
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
254°, 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: 109 in the 60 days after this one and 90 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 109.

Before

Earthquakes todayCalifornia earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1069372. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 3:45 PM UTC.