M2.3 earthquake 49km SW of Lompoc, CA
A magnitude 2.3 earthquake struck 49km SW of Lompoc, CA on Sun, Jan 4, 1981, 12:07 AM PST (08:07 UTC), 5 km (3 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M3.2 2 km SSW of Edna, California. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 2.3 (mh), micro
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-01-04 08:07:01 UTC
- Depth
- 5.5 km (3.4 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 34.389° N, 120.899° W
- Region
- California
- 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 1.6 km horizontally, 31.6 km in depth
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 272°, poorly surrounded by stations
- Stations used
- 6
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 2.15km W of Isla Vista, CA · 16679 days ago · 9 km deep · 90 km away
- 1.918 km WSW of Callender, California · 16678 days ago · 0 km deep · 66 km away
- 2.016 km WSW of Callender, California · 16674 days ago · 3 km deep · 68 km away
- 3.22 km SSW of Edna, California · 16648 days ago · 0 km deep · 91 km away
- 2.321 km WSW of Los Osos, California · 16640 days ago · 6 km deep · 97 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayCalifornia earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event ci3301637. Read Wed, Sep 23, 2026, 4:24 AM UTC.