California earthquakes

M3.2 earthquake 11 km WSW of Hayfork, California

A magnitude 3.2 earthquake struck 11 km WSW of Hayfork, California on Sat, Aug 29, 1981, 8:31 PM PDT (03:31 UTC), 30 km (19 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.3 10 km SW of Mad River, California. This one was a foreshock.

Hayfork 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
3.2 (ML, local (Richter)), minor
Magnitude from
Northern California Seismic System
Local time
UTC
1981-08-30 03:31:25 UTC
Depth
30.1 km (18.7 mi), shallow
Epicenter
40.503° N, 123.295° W
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

Magnitude estimates

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.ScaleComputed byNotes
3.2ML, local (Richter)Northern California Seismic SystemPreferred · Final · 0 stations
3.2ML, local (Richter)USGS National Earthquake Information CenterReviewed

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 0.4 km horizontally, 1.0 km in depth
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
75°
Stations used
30

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 64 in the 60 days after this one and 34 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 64.

Before

Earthquakes todayCalifornia earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1067223 (also filed as usp0001fjs). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 8:00 PM UTC.