California earthquakes

M1.8 earthquake 7 km SSW of Kingvale, California

A magnitude 1.8 earthquake struck 7 km SSW of Kingvale, California on Thu, Nov 5, 1981, 9:38 PM PST (05:38 UTC), 14 km (9 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M1.9 5 km SSE of Sierraville, California. This one was a foreshock.

Truckee 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
1.8 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-11-06 05:38:15 UTC
Depth
14.0 km (8.7 mi), shallow
Epicenter
39.254° N, 120.454° 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 1.1 km horizontally, 1.7 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.09
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
277°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
11

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 13 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.95 km SSE of Sierraville, California · 16390 days ago · 4 km deep · 34 km away
  2. 2.17 km N of Truckee, California · 16387 days ago · 22 km deep · 28 km away
  3. 1.86 km NNW of Bucks Lake, California · 16382 days ago · 11 km deep · 99 km away
  4. 1.912 km N of Soda Springs, California · 16378 days ago · 8 km deep · 22 km away
  5. 1.93 km S of South Oroville, California · 16365 days ago · 11 km deep · 98 km away
  6. 1.910 km SSW of Markleeville, California · 16361 days ago · 0 km deep · 89 km away
  7. 2.12 km SE of South Oroville, California · 16355 days ago · 9 km deep · 96 km away
  8. 3.2Northern California · 16346 days ago · 0 km deep · 75 km away
  9. 1.86 km W of Dobbins, California · 16345 days ago · 14 km deep · 73 km away
  10. 2.0Northern California · 16344 days ago · 6 km deep · 2 km away
  11. 2.66 km W of Sierra City, California · 16338 days ago · 19 km deep · 41 km away
  12. 2.212 km NE of Beckwourth, California · 16333 days ago · 0 km deep · 74 km away
  13. 3.94 km N of Plumas Eureka, California · 16332 days ago · -1 km deep · 66 km away

Before

  1. 3.313 km SSE of Sparks, Nevada · 16393 days ago · 2 km deep · 66 km away
  2. 1.916 km ESE of Alta, California · 16408 days ago · 24 km deep · 18 km away
  3. 1.917 km W of Kirkwood, California · 16416 days ago · 14 km deep · 60 km away
  4. 1.53 km E of Palermo, California · 16420 days ago · 5 km deep · 92 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1069229. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 5:44 PM UTC.