California earthquakes

M1.6 earthquake 174 km W of Ferndale, California

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake struck 174 km W of Ferndale, California on Mon, Nov 30, 1981, 3:01 PM PST (23:01 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
1.6 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-11-30 23:01:32 UTC
Depth
4.6 km (2.9 mi), shallow
Epicenter
40.593° N, 126.327° 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 7.4 km horizontally, 8.5 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.01
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
319°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
9

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 5 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 3.7109 km W of Ferndale, California · 16372 days ago · 5 km deep · 66 km away
  2. 2.0108 km W of Ferndale, California · 16351 days ago · 4 km deep · 71 km away
  3. 2.9141 km W of Ferndale, California · 16343 days ago · 5 km deep · 35 km away
  4. 2.3111 km W of Ferndale, California · 16339 days ago · 5 km deep · 69 km away
  5. 4.8122 km W of Ferndale, California · 16331 days ago · 5 km deep · 58 km away
  6. 3.1127 km W of Ferndale, California · 16330 days ago · 5 km deep · 54 km away
  7. 2.292 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16327 days ago · 5 km deep · 87 km away

Before

  1. 2.8161 km W of Ferndale, California · 16375 days ago · 5 km deep · 14 km away
  2. 3.1101 km W of Indianola, California · 16382 days ago · 5 km deep · 81 km away
  3. 2.4101 km W of Ferndale, California · 16385 days ago · 5 km deep · 77 km away
  4. 2.8125 km W of Ferndale, California · 16394 days ago · 5 km deep · 51 km away
  5. 3.294 km W of Ferndale, California · 16404 days ago · 18 km deep · 80 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1069873. Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 3:33 AM UTC.