California earthquakes

M1.5 earthquake 3 km E of Palermo, California

A magnitude 1.5 earthquake struck 3 km E of Palermo, California on Thu, Oct 8, 1981, 6:19 AM PDT (13:19 UTC), 5 km (3 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.1 10 km N of Chico, 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
1.5 (ma), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-10-08 13:19:29 UTC
Depth
4.7 km (2.9 mi), shallow
Epicenter
39.431° 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 0.5 km horizontally, 0.9 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.21
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
149°
Stations used
4

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 15 in the 60 days after this one and 6 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 2.214 km S of Hamilton City, California · 16424 days ago · 23 km deep · 49 km away
  2. 2.26 km WSW of Paradise, California · 16424 days ago · 16 km deep · 37 km away
  3. 1.916 km ESE of Alta, California · 16416 days ago · 24 km deep · 81 km away
  4. 3.110 km N of Chico, California · 16412 days ago · 22 km deep · 53 km away
  5. 2.66 km N of Robbins, California · 16406 days ago · 21 km deep · 58 km away
  6. 2.79 km NE of Gerber, California · 16400 days ago · 24 km deep · 89 km away
  7. 1.87 km SSW of Kingvale, California · 16400 days ago · 14 km deep · 92 km away
  8. 1.81 km SSW of Hamilton City, California · 16396 days ago · 6 km deep · 56 km away
  9. 1.5Northern California · 16395 days ago · 19 km deep · 53 km away
  10. 1.78 km S of Hamilton City, California · 16395 days ago · 17 km deep · 53 km away
  11. 1.86 km NNW of Bucks Lake, California · 16390 days ago · 11 km deep · 60 km away
  12. 1.912 km N of Soda Springs, California · 16386 days ago · 8 km deep · 98 km away
  13. 1.93 km S of South Oroville, California · 16374 days ago · 11 km deep · 6 km away
  14. 1.815 km WSW of Chester, California · 16372 days ago · 3 km deep · 92 km away
  15. 1.94 km NW of Lake Almanor West, California · 16370 days ago · 26 km deep · 95 km away

Before

  1. 1.77 km SE of Mineral, California · 16437 days ago · -1 km deep · 96 km away
  2. 2.04 km NE of Princeton, California · 16444 days ago · 24 km deep · 40 km away
  3. 2.511 km NE of Cromberg, California · 16452 days ago · 5 km deep · 95 km away
  4. 2.81 km ENE of Lake Almanor West, California · 16456 days ago · 2 km deep · 94 km away
  5. 3.02 km ENE of Prattville, California · 16457 days ago · 12 km deep · 93 km away
  6. 2.52 km ESE of Prattville, California · 16457 days ago · 2 km deep · 91 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1068416. Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 8:26 PM UTC.