California earthquakes

M2.8 earthquake 161 km W of Ferndale, California

A magnitude 2.8 earthquake struck 161 km W of Ferndale, California on Sun, Nov 29, 1981, 9:33 AM PST (17:33 UTC), 5 km (3 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.8 122 km W 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
2.8 (Md, duration), micro
Magnitude from
Northern California Seismic System
Local time
UTC
1981-11-29 17:33:09 UTC
Depth
5.5 km (3.4 mi), shallow
Epicenter
40.542° N, 126.172° 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 15.5 km horizontally, 7.0 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.03
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
313°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
18

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 11 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.6174 km W of Ferndale, California · 16376 days ago · 5 km deep · 14 km away
  2. 3.872 km W of Ferndale, California · 16374 days ago · 43 km deep · 90 km away
  3. 3.7109 km W of Ferndale, California · 16374 days ago · 5 km deep · 55 km away
  4. 2.0108 km W of Ferndale, California · 16353 days ago · 4 km deep · 57 km away
  5. 2.9141 km W of Ferndale, California · 16345 days ago · 5 km deep · 21 km away
  6. 2.3111 km W of Ferndale, California · 16341 days ago · 5 km deep · 55 km away
  7. 2.977 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16339 days ago · 8 km deep · 90 km away
  8. 4.8122 km W of Ferndale, California · 16333 days ago · 5 km deep · 44 km away
  9. 3.1127 km W of Ferndale, California · 16332 days ago · 5 km deep · 40 km away
  10. 2.292 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16329 days ago · 5 km deep · 73 km away
  11. 2.265 km WNW of Ferndale, California · 16325 days ago · 13 km deep · 99 km away

Before

  1. 3.1101 km W of Indianola, California · 16384 days ago · 5 km deep · 71 km away
  2. 2.4101 km W of Ferndale, California · 16387 days ago · 5 km deep · 63 km away
  3. 2.8125 km W of Ferndale, California · 16396 days ago · 5 km deep · 37 km away
  4. 3.294 km W of Ferndale, California · 16406 days ago · 18 km deep · 68 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1069831. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 1:16 AM UTC.