California earthquakes

M2.1 earthquake 4 km SE of Palermo, California

A magnitude 2.1 earthquake struck 4 km SE of Palermo, California on Mon, Sep 7, 1981, 4:35 AM PDT (11:35 UTC), 6 km (4 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.5 2 km ESE of Prattville, 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.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
2.1 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-09-07 11:35:21 UTC
Depth
6.3 km (3.9 mi), shallow
Epicenter
39.403° N, 121.498° 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 0.3 km horizontally, 0.7 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.27
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
91°
Stations used
17

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 14 in the 60 days after this one and 7 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 2.52 km ESE of Prattville, California · 16450 days ago · 2 km deep · 94 km away
  2. 3.02 km ENE of Prattville, California · 16450 days ago · 12 km deep · 96 km away
  3. 2.81 km ENE of Lake Almanor West, California · 16449 days ago · 2 km deep · 97 km away
  4. 2.511 km NE of Cromberg, California · 16444 days ago · 5 km deep · 97 km away
  5. 2.04 km NE of Princeton, California · 16437 days ago · 24 km deep · 40 km away
  6. 1.77 km SE of Mineral, California · 16430 days ago · -1 km deep · 99 km away
  7. 1.53 km E of Palermo, California · 16421 days ago · 5 km deep · 3 km away
  8. 2.214 km S of Hamilton City, California · 16417 days ago · 23 km deep · 50 km away
  9. 2.26 km WSW of Paradise, California · 16417 days ago · 16 km deep · 40 km away
  10. 1.916 km ESE of Alta, California · 16409 days ago · 24 km deep · 80 km away
  11. 3.110 km N of Chico, California · 16405 days ago · 22 km deep · 56 km away
  12. 2.66 km N of Robbins, California · 16399 days ago · 21 km deep · 55 km away
  13. 2.79 km NE of Gerber, California · 16393 days ago · 24 km deep · 91 km away
  14. 1.87 km SSW of Kingvale, California · 16392 days ago · 14 km deep · 91 km away

Before

  1. 1.76 km SSW of Hamilton City, California · 16453 days ago · 19 km deep · 57 km away
  2. 2.66 km S of Kingvale, California · 16459 days ago · 11 km deep · 94 km away
  3. 3.13 km WSW of Spring Garden, California · 16461 days ago · 0 km deep · 79 km away
  4. 1.51 km E of Oroville, California · 16471 days ago · 10 km deep · 13 km away
  5. 1.76 km SSE of Palermo, California · 16473 days ago · 1 km deep · 2 km away
  6. 1.710 km SE of Mineral, California · 16474 days ago · 2 km deep · 99 km away
  7. 1.615 km NNE of Butte Meadows, California · 16481 days ago · 3 km deep · 90 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1067421. Read Wed, Sep 23, 2026, 4:37 PM UTC.