California earthquakes

M3.1 earthquake 7 km NW of Parkfield, California

A magnitude 3.1 earthquake struck 7 km NW of Parkfield, California on Fri, Jan 16, 1981, 4:09 PM PST (00:09 UTC), 11 km (7 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.4 8 km NE of Cayucos, California. This one was a foreshock.

Coalinga forecast More 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: 3.1 (ml), minor
Local time: Fri, Jan 16, 1981, 4:09 PM PST
UTC: 1981-01-17 00:09:36 UTC
Depth: 10.5 km (6.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 35.944° N, 120.490° 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 0.2 km horizontally, 0.3 km in depth
Depth from: From location
Station coverage gap: 62°
Stations used: 43

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 120 in the 60 days after this one and 48 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 120.

Before

Earthquakes today California earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1059357 (also filed as ci3315878, usp0001brs). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:21 PM UTC.