California earthquakes

M1.7 earthquake 6 km SSE of Palermo, California

A magnitude 1.7 earthquake struck 6 km SSE of Palermo, California on Mon, Aug 17, 1981, 12:09 PM PDT (19:09 UTC), 1 km (1 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.1 3 km WSW of Spring Garden, California. This one was a foreshock.

Palermo forecastMore in California

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

The earthquake

Magnitude
1.7 (Md, duration), micro
Magnitude from
Northern California Seismic System
Local time
UTC
1981-08-17 19:09:22 UTC
Depth
1.4 km (0.9 mi), shallow
Epicenter
39.385° N, 121.496° 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 0.4 km horizontally, 4.5 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.14
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
116°
Stations used
7

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 15 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.51 km E of Oroville, California · 16479 days ago · 10 km deep · 15 km away
  2. 3.13 km WSW of Spring Garden, California · 16469 days ago · 0 km deep · 80 km away
  3. 2.66 km S of Kingvale, California · 16467 days ago · 11 km deep · 93 km away
  4. 1.76 km SSW of Hamilton City, California · 16461 days ago · 19 km deep · 58 km away
  5. 2.14 km SE of Palermo, California · 16460 days ago · 6 km deep · 2 km away
  6. 2.52 km ESE of Prattville, California · 16458 days ago · 2 km deep · 96 km away
  7. 3.02 km ENE of Prattville, California · 16458 days ago · 12 km deep · 98 km away
  8. 2.81 km ENE of Lake Almanor West, California · 16457 days ago · 2 km deep · 99 km away
  9. 2.511 km NE of Cromberg, California · 16453 days ago · 5 km deep · 98 km away
  10. 2.04 km NE of Princeton, California · 16445 days ago · 24 km deep · 40 km away
  11. 1.53 km E of Palermo, California · 16429 days ago · 5 km deep · 5 km away
  12. 2.214 km S of Hamilton City, California · 16425 days ago · 23 km deep · 51 km away
  13. 2.26 km WSW of Paradise, California · 16425 days ago · 16 km deep · 42 km away

Before

  1. 1.615 km NNE of Butte Meadows, California · 16489 days ago · 3 km deep · 92 km away
  2. 1.97 km ESE of Los Molinos, California · 16491 days ago · 3 km deep · 81 km away
  3. 2.91 km ENE of Clipper Mills, California · 16497 days ago · 8 km deep · 35 km away
  4. 1.86 km WSW of Durham, California · 16497 days ago · 29 km deep · 40 km away
  5. 2.14 km SSW of Whitehawk, California · 16503 days ago · 14 km deep · 85 km away
  6. 1.94 km SE of Palermo, California · 16503 days ago · 6 km deep · 3 km away
  7. 2.010 km W of Lake Almanor West, California · 16504 days ago · 3 km deep · 96 km away
  8. 2.56 km SSE of Dunnigan, California · 16505 days ago · 10 km deep · 72 km away
  9. 2.75 km ESE of Chico, California · 16506 days ago · 19 km deep · 44 km away
  10. 1.93 km SW of East Shore, California · 16508 days ago · 1 km deep · 98 km away
  11. 1.66 km NW of Plumas Eureka (historical), California · 16508 days ago · 1 km deep · 78 km away
  12. 2.0Northern California · 16509 days ago · 13 km deep · 100 km away
  13. 1.82 km NE of Canyondam, California · 16509 days ago · 2 km deep · 97 km away
  14. 1.52 km ESE of Nord, California · 16509 days ago · 14 km deep · 57 km away
  15. 2.86 km NNW of Thermalito, California · 16511 days ago · 2 km deep · 22 km away

Earthquakes todayCalifornia earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1066860. Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 8:37 PM UTC.