California earthquakes

M2.6 earthquake 6 km S of Kingvale, California

A magnitude 2.6 earthquake struck 6 km S of Kingvale, California on Mon, Aug 31, 1981, 11:34 AM PDT (18:34 UTC), 11 km (7 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.1 8 km E of Markleeville, 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
2.6 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-08-31 18:34:07 UTC
Depth
11.0 km (6.8 mi), shallow
Epicenter
39.262° N, 120.422° 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 1.9 km horizontally, 2.9 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.12
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
258°, 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: 9 in the 60 days after this one and 7 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 2.14 km SE of Palermo, California · 16451 days ago · 6 km deep · 94 km away
  2. 2.64 km SSE of Floriston, California · 16446 days ago · 14 km deep · 37 km away
  3. 2.511 km NE of Cromberg, California · 16443 days ago · 5 km deep · 76 km away
  4. 3.18 km E of Markleeville, California · 16442 days ago · 3 km deep · 89 km away
  5. 2.513 km SW of Markleeville, California · 16434 days ago · 7 km deep · 84 km away
  6. 3.49 km S of Dayton, Nevada · 16429 days ago · 8 km deep · 72 km away
  7. 1.53 km E of Palermo, California · 16420 days ago · 5 km deep · 94 km away
  8. 1.917 km W of Kirkwood, California · 16416 days ago · 14 km deep · 60 km away
  9. 1.916 km ESE of Alta, California · 16408 days ago · 24 km deep · 20 km away

Before

  1. 3.13 km WSW of Spring Garden, California · 16460 days ago · 0 km deep · 78 km away
  2. 2.010 km SSW of Markleeville, California · 16462 days ago · 12 km deep · 88 km away
  3. 2.011 km NE of Soda Springs, California · 16467 days ago · 12 km deep · 20 km away
  4. 1.51 km E of Oroville, California · 16470 days ago · 10 km deep · 100 km away
  5. 1.76 km SSE of Palermo, California · 16472 days ago · 1 km deep · 93 km away
  6. 2.91 km ENE of Clipper Mills, California · 16488 days ago · 8 km deep · 69 km away
  7. 1.810 km NE of Chilcoot-Vinton, California · 16488 days ago · 9 km deep · 76 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1067258. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 3:35 PM UTC.