California earthquakes

M1.5 earthquake 6 km S of Kingvale, California

A magnitude 1.5 earthquake struck 6 km S of Kingvale, California on Wed, Jan 21, 1981, 4:58 AM PST (12:58 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.1 7 km SW of Whitehawk, California. This one was a foreshock.

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Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
1.5 (ma), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-01-21 12:58:19 UTC
Depth
9.5 km (5.9 mi), shallow
Epicenter
39.267° N, 120.441° 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 1.0 km horizontally, 3.0 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.12
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
280°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
13

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 34 in the 60 days after this one and 22 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 3.17 km SW of Whitehawk, California · 16680 days ago · 4 km deep · 48 km away
  2. 3.18 km SW of Whitehawk, California · 16680 days ago · 3 km deep · 48 km away
  3. 2.18 km SW of Whitehawk, California · 16680 days ago · 26 km deep · 47 km away
  4. 1.64 km SW of Whitehawk, California · 16678 days ago · 3 km deep · 49 km away
  5. 1.57 km SSW of Kingvale, California · 16677 days ago · 6 km deep · 2 km away
  6. 2.34 km SSW of Kingvale, California · 16677 days ago · 18 km deep · 2 km away
  7. 2.310 km SSW of Kingvale, California · 16674 days ago · 12 km deep · 5 km away
  8. 1.63 km S of East Quincy, California · 16671 days ago · 8 km deep · 80 km away
  9. 2.24 km WSW of Whitehawk, California · 16671 days ago · 4 km deep · 50 km away
  10. 1.810 km WSW of Alpine Village, California · 16668 days ago · 0 km deep · 75 km away
  11. 2.18 km SSW of Kingvale, California · 16662 days ago · 14 km deep · 3 km away
  12. 1.95 km WSW of Whitehawk, California · 16662 days ago · 0 km deep · 50 km away
  13. 2.19 km S of East Quincy, California · 16661 days ago · 2 km deep · 76 km away
  14. 2.04 km SE of Palermo, California · 16661 days ago · 6 km deep · 92 km away
  15. 2.90 km W of Mesa Vista, California · 16660 days ago · 2 km deep · 75 km away
  16. 2.02 km SSE of Cromberg, California · 16660 days ago · -1 km deep · 66 km away
  17. 3.07 km SW of Whitehawk, California · 16658 days ago · -1 km deep · 48 km away
  18. 2.04 km SW of Whitehawk, California · 16658 days ago · 0 km deep · 50 km away
  19. 2.47 km N of Little Grass Valley, California · 16658 days ago · 21 km deep · 74 km away
  20. 2.29 km WSW of Markleeville, California · 16658 days ago · 3 km deep · 83 km away
  21. 1.810 km SE of Soda Springs, California · 16657 days ago · 32 km deep · 12 km away
  22. 1.97 km E of Cromberg, California · 16654 days ago · 5 km deep · 67 km away
  23. 2.58 km SW of Clio, California · 16646 days ago · 14 km deep · 50 km away
  24. 1.95 km SSW of Kingvale, California · 16646 days ago · 7 km deep · 1 km away
  25. 1.59 km WSW of Markleeville, California · 16645 days ago · 2 km deep · 84 km away
  26. 1.811 km NNE of Bear Valley, California · 16642 days ago · 0 km deep · 89 km away
  27. 1.810 km NNE of Bear Valley, California · 16642 days ago · 13 km deep · 89 km away
  28. 2.7Northern California · 16637 days ago · 7 km deep · 94 km away
  29. 1.94 km WNW of Alpine Village, California · 16636 days ago · 11 km deep · 73 km away
  30. 1.89 km SE of Alta, California · 16636 days ago · 0 km deep · 29 km away
  31. 1.63 km SSW of Soda Springs, California · 16635 days ago · 15 km deep · 5 km away
  32. 2.74 km NW of Lincoln, California · 16633 days ago · 10 km deep · 86 km away
  33. 2.34 km SE of Palermo, California · 16633 days ago · 8 km deep · 93 km away
  34. 3.04 km NW of Lincoln, California · 16633 days ago · 9 km deep · 86 km away

Before

  1. 1.78 km SW of Clio, California · 16690 days ago · 14 km deep · 50 km away
  2. 1.65 km SW of Whitehawk, California · 16690 days ago · 8 km deep · 49 km away
  3. 1.74 km WSW of Whitehawk, California · 16694 days ago · 7 km deep · 51 km away
  4. 2.86 km SSW of Kingvale, California · 16697 days ago · 12 km deep · 2 km away
  5. 2.11 km S of Whitehawk, California · 16700 days ago · -1 km deep · 50 km away
  6. 2.66 km SSW of Meadow Valley, California · 16703 days ago · 17 km deep · 87 km away
  7. 1.66 km SW of Whitehawk, California · 16704 days ago · 6 km deep · 49 km away
  8. 3.22 km SW of Whitehawk, California · 16705 days ago · 0 km deep · 50 km away
  9. 1.73 km E of Whitehawk, California · 16705 days ago · 9 km deep · 51 km away
  10. 2.69 km SSW of Kingvale, California · 16705 days ago · 15 km deep · 4 km away
  11. 2.73 km SW of Whitehawk, California · 16706 days ago · 4 km deep · 50 km away
  12. 2.97 km WSW of Whitehawk, California · 16706 days ago · 8 km deep · 49 km away
  13. 2.09 km SW of Whitehawk, California · 16706 days ago · 7 km deep · 47 km away
  14. 3.66 km SW of Whitehawk, California · 16706 days ago · 0 km deep · 48 km away
  15. 1.512 km SSW of Kingvale, California · 16710 days ago · 10 km deep · 7 km away
  16. 3.04 km S of Kingvale, California · 16711 days ago · 8 km deep · 1 km away
  17. 2.24 km ESE of Sheridan, California · 16713 days ago · 31 km deep · 83 km away
  18. 3.16 km SSW of Kingvale, California · 16715 days ago · 11 km deep · 1 km away
  19. 2.45 km N of Verdi, California · 16716 days ago · 2 km deep · 50 km away
  20. 2.34 km NW of Verdi, California · 16716 days ago · 2 km deep · 47 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1059474. Read Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 7:38 PM UTC.