M3.1 earthquake 8 km E of Markleeville, California
A magnitude 3.1 earthquake struck 8 km E of Markleeville, California on Wed, Sep 16, 1981, 8:20 PM PDT (03:20 UTC), 3 km (2 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M3.4 9 km S of Dayton, Nevada. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 3.1 (md), minor
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-09-17 03:20:30 UTC
- Depth
- 3.4 km (2.1 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 38.707° N, 119.682° W
- Region
- Nevada
- 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 0.3 km horizontally, 1.1 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.11
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 176°
- Stations used
- 29
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 6 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 2.513 km SW of Markleeville, California · 16434 days ago · 7 km deep · 21 km away
- 3.49 km S of Dayton, Nevada · 16429 days ago · 8 km deep · 50 km away
- 1.917 km W of Kirkwood, California · 16416 days ago · 14 km deep · 51 km away
- 1.916 km ESE of Alta, California · 16408 days ago · 24 km deep · 96 km away
- 3.313 km SSE of Sparks, Nevada · 16393 days ago · 2 km deep · 79 km away
- 1.87 km SSW of Kingvale, California · 16392 days ago · 14 km deep · 90 km away
- 2.17 km N of Truckee, California · 16387 days ago · 22 km deep · 89 km away
Before
- 2.212 km SSW of Bridgeport, California · 16444 days ago · 4 km deep · 69 km away
- 2.64 km SSE of Floriston, California · 16446 days ago · 14 km deep · 77 km away
- 2.66 km S of Kingvale, California · 16458 days ago · 11 km deep · 89 km away
- 2.010 km SSW of Markleeville, California · 16462 days ago · 12 km deep · 17 km away
- 2.011 km NE of Soda Springs, California · 16467 days ago · 12 km deep · 94 km away
- 2.45 km WSW of Walker, California · 16471 days ago · 14 km deep · 26 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1067711. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 5:22 PM UTC.