California earthquakes

M1.9 earthquake 5 km SSW of Kingvale, California

A magnitude 1.9 earthquake struck 5 km SSW of Kingvale, California on Tue, Mar 3, 1981, 6:55 AM PST (14:55 UTC), 7 km (4 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.2 10 km WSW of Virginia City, Nevada. 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
1.9 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-03-03 14:55:07 UTC
Depth
6.8 km (4.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter
39.279° N, 120.450° 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 0.9 km horizontally, 2.4 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.15
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
258°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
12

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 17 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.59 km WSW of Markleeville, California · 16644 days ago · 2 km deep · 85 km away
  2. 1.811 km NNE of Bear Valley, California · 16641 days ago · 0 km deep · 90 km away
  3. 1.810 km NNE of Bear Valley, California · 16641 days ago · 13 km deep · 90 km away
  4. 2.7Northern California · 16636 days ago · 7 km deep · 93 km away
  5. 1.94 km WNW of Alpine Village, California · 16636 days ago · 11 km deep · 74 km away
  6. 1.89 km SE of Alta, California · 16635 days ago · 0 km deep · 29 km away
  7. 1.63 km SSW of Soda Springs, California · 16634 days ago · 15 km deep · 5 km away
  8. 2.74 km NW of Lincoln, California · 16633 days ago · 10 km deep · 86 km away
  9. 2.34 km SE of Palermo, California · 16633 days ago · 8 km deep · 92 km away
  10. 3.04 km NW of Lincoln, California · 16632 days ago · 9 km deep · 86 km away
  11. 1.69 km WNW of Plumas Eureka (historical), California · 16623 days ago · 7 km deep · 65 km away
  12. 3.58 km NNW of Truckee, California · 16621 days ago · 9 km deep · 23 km away
  13. 2.211 km NW of Truckee, California · 16621 days ago · 7 km deep · 21 km away
  14. 2.011 km NNW of Truckee, California · 16621 days ago · 11 km deep · 22 km away
  15. 2.011 km N of Truckee, California · 16621 days ago · 7 km deep · 29 km away
  16. 2.29 km NNW of Truckee, California · 16621 days ago · 12 km deep · 25 km away
  17. 2.39 km NNW of Truckee, California · 16621 days ago · 14 km deep · 23 km away
  18. 3.88 km NNW of Truckee, California · 16621 days ago · 5 km deep · 25 km away
  19. 2.39 km NNW of Truckee, California · 16621 days ago · 11 km deep · 24 km away
  20. 1.710 km NNW of Truckee, California · 16621 days ago · 13 km deep · 22 km away
  21. 2.99 km NW of Truckee, California · 16620 days ago · 14 km deep · 19 km away
  22. 2.08 km WNW of Truckee, California · 16617 days ago · 25 km deep · 17 km away
  23. 3.19 km NNW of Truckee, California · 16615 days ago · 9 km deep · 25 km away
  24. 2.110 km NW of Truckee, California · 16614 days ago · 12 km deep · 21 km away
  25. 2.48 km NW of Truckee, California · 16609 days ago · 13 km deep · 20 km away
  26. 2.14 km SE of Palermo, California · 16609 days ago · 6 km deep · 91 km away
  27. 1.85 km SE of Palermo, California · 16608 days ago · 6 km deep · 91 km away
  28. 2.218 km ENE of Pollock Pines, California · 16605 days ago · 3 km deep · 49 km away
  29. 1.711 km NW of Truckee, California · 16603 days ago · 4 km deep · 20 km away
  30. 2.013 km SW of Kingvale, California · 16601 days ago · 16 km deep · 9 km away
  31. 2.45 km SE of Palermo, California · 16597 days ago · 6 km deep · 91 km away
  32. 2.27 km WNW of Sierra City, California · 16592 days ago · 10 km deep · 41 km away
  33. 1.75 km WNW of Bangor, California · 16589 days ago · 6 km deep · 89 km away
  34. 4.210 km WSW of Virginia City, Nevada · 16589 days ago · 10 km deep · 59 km away

Before

  1. 2.58 km SW of Clio, California · 16645 days ago · 14 km deep · 48 km away
  2. 1.97 km E of Cromberg, California · 16653 days ago · 5 km deep · 66 km away
  3. 1.810 km SE of Soda Springs, California · 16656 days ago · 32 km deep · 13 km away
  4. 2.29 km WSW of Markleeville, California · 16657 days ago · 3 km deep · 84 km away
  5. 2.47 km N of Little Grass Valley, California · 16657 days ago · 21 km deep · 72 km away
  6. 2.04 km SW of Whitehawk, California · 16658 days ago · 0 km deep · 48 km away
  7. 3.07 km SW of Whitehawk, California · 16658 days ago · -1 km deep · 46 km away
  8. 2.02 km SSE of Cromberg, California · 16659 days ago · -1 km deep · 65 km away
  9. 2.90 km W of Mesa Vista, California · 16659 days ago · 2 km deep · 77 km away
  10. 2.04 km SE of Palermo, California · 16660 days ago · 6 km deep · 92 km away
  11. 2.19 km S of East Quincy, California · 16661 days ago · 2 km deep · 75 km away
  12. 1.95 km WSW of Whitehawk, California · 16661 days ago · 0 km deep · 48 km away
  13. 2.18 km SSW of Kingvale, California · 16662 days ago · 14 km deep · 3 km away
  14. 1.810 km WSW of Alpine Village, California · 16668 days ago · 0 km deep · 76 km away
  15. 2.24 km WSW of Whitehawk, California · 16670 days ago · 4 km deep · 49 km away
  16. 1.63 km S of East Quincy, California · 16670 days ago · 8 km deep · 79 km away
  17. 2.310 km SSW of Kingvale, California · 16674 days ago · 12 km deep · 6 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1060972. Read Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 2:07 AM UTC.