California earthquakes

M1.6 earthquake 19 km NW of Parkfield, California

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake struck 19 km NW of Parkfield, California on Sat, May 9, 1981, 6:50 PM PDT (01:50 UTC), 4 km (3 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M1.7 38 km W of Three Rocks, California. This one was a foreshock.

Coalinga 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
1.6 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-05-10 01:50:55 UTC
Depth
4.3 km (2.7 mi), shallow
Epicenter
36.023° N, 120.579° 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 0.2 km horizontally, 0.4 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.27
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
122°
Stations used
28

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 115 in the 60 days after this one and 47 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.738 km W of Three Rocks, California · 16572 days ago · 1 km deep · 62 km away
  2. 1.817 km SSE of Tres Pinos, California · 16569 days ago · 9 km deep · 92 km away
  3. 1.823 km NE of Soledad, California · 16569 days ago · 8 km deep · 78 km away
  4. 1.722 km NE of Soledad, California · 16569 days ago · 8 km deep · 78 km away
  5. 2.023 km NE of King City, California · 16569 days ago · 7 km deep · 51 km away
  6. 2.18 km W of Huron, California · 16569 days ago · 7 km deep · 40 km away
  7. 2.25 km SSE of Parkfield, California · 16567 days ago · 5 km deep · 24 km away
  8. 2.115 km E of Kettleman City, California · 16567 days ago · 8 km deep · 71 km away
  9. 2.424 km NE of Greenfield, California · 16565 days ago · 8 km deep · 65 km away
  10. 3.013 km SSE of Parkfield, California · 16565 days ago · 10 km deep · 33 km away
  11. 1.725 km SW of Three Rocks, California · 16565 days ago · 14 km deep · 32 km away
  12. 1.914 km SSE of Tres Pinos, California · 16564 days ago · 4 km deep · 95 km away
  13. 1.822 km ENE of Soledad, California · 16564 days ago · 3 km deep · 75 km away
  14. 1.614 km SSE of Tres Pinos, California · 16564 days ago · 4 km deep · 95 km away
  15. 2.222 km NE of Soledad, California · 16564 days ago · 4 km deep · 83 km away
  16. 3.214 km SW of Cambria, California · 16564 days ago · 9 km deep · 82 km away
  17. 1.520 km NW of San Simeon, California · 16563 days ago · 13 km deep · 76 km away
  18. 2.218 km SSW of Kettleman City, California · 16562 days ago · 16 km deep · 55 km away
  19. 2.921 km SSE of Avenal, California · 16562 days ago · 12 km deep · 53 km away
  20. 3.020 km S of Avenal, California · 16562 days ago · 12 km deep · 48 km away
  21. 1.618km S of Kettleman City, CA · 16562 days ago · 5 km deep · 60 km away
  22. 1.620 km S of Kettleman City, California · 16562 days ago · 2 km deep · 58 km away
  23. 2.523 km SSE of Avenal, California · 16562 days ago · 16 km deep · 54 km away
  24. 1.929km SSE of Kettleman City, CA · 16562 days ago · 5 km deep · 71 km away
  25. 2.214km S of Kettleman City, CA · 16562 days ago · 5 km deep · 59 km away
  26. 1.516km S of Avenal, CA · 16562 days ago · 5 km deep · 47 km away
  27. 2.321 km S of Avenal, California · 16562 days ago · 9 km deep · 45 km away
  28. 1.624 km NE of Greenfield, California · 16561 days ago · 3 km deep · 65 km away
  29. 2.11 km NNE of Atascadero, California · 16560 days ago · 9 km deep · 59 km away
  30. 2.031 km WNW of Three Rocks, California · 16559 days ago · 10 km deep · 63 km away
  31. 1.924 km ENE of Greenfield, California · 16557 days ago · 6 km deep · 59 km away
  32. 2.06 km SSE of Parkfield, CA · 16557 days ago · 4 km deep · 25 km away
  33. 1.96 km SSE of Parkfield, CA · 16557 days ago · 4 km deep · 25 km away
  34. 2.621 km SSE of Tres Pinos, California · 16556 days ago · 6 km deep · 87 km away
  35. 1.823 km NW of San Simeon, California · 16556 days ago · 6 km deep · 72 km away
  36. 1.820 km ESE of Tres Pinos, California · 16555 days ago · 6 km deep · 91 km away
  37. 2.620 km S of Kettleman City, California · 16554 days ago · 9 km deep · 58 km away
  38. 2.132 km NW of Coalinga, California · 16552 days ago · 14 km deep · 32 km away
  39. 2.121 km NE of Soledad, California · 16551 days ago · 2 km deep · 78 km away
  40. 2.112 km NW of Huron, California · 16551 days ago · 19 km deep · 46 km away
  41. 1.624 km NE of King City, California · 16551 days ago · 5 km deep · 50 km away
  42. 1.622 km ENE of San Lucas, California · 16551 days ago · 9 km deep · 32 km away
  43. 2.338 km W of Three Rocks, California · 16550 days ago · 7 km deep · 62 km away
  44. 2.717 km NNW of San Simeon, California · 16550 days ago · 9 km deep · 69 km away
  45. 1.816 km SSE of Tres Pinos, California · 16550 days ago · 9 km deep · 93 km away
  46. 1.823 km NE of Greenfield, California · 16549 days ago · 5 km deep · 64 km away
  47. 1.612 km W of Avenal, California · 16549 days ago · 8 km deep · 28 km away
  48. 1.626 km NE of Soledad, California · 16548 days ago · 12 km deep · 77 km away
  49. 1.724 km ENE of Greenfield, California · 16547 days ago · 5 km deep · 60 km away
  50. 1.618 km NW of Parkfield, California · 16543 days ago · 4 km deep · 0 km away
  51. 2.416 km ENE of Gonzales, California · 16543 days ago · 12 km deep · 87 km away
  52. 2.221 km ESE of Tres Pinos, California · 16543 days ago · 5 km deep · 88 km away
  53. 2.219 km NW of Parkfield, California · 16542 days ago · 4 km deep · 0 km away
  54. 2.022 km NE of Soledad, California · 16542 days ago · 3 km deep · 75 km away
  55. 1.530 km WNW of Three Rocks, California · 16541 days ago · 4 km deep · 62 km away
  56. 1.929 km WNW of Three Rocks, California · 16541 days ago · 10 km deep · 65 km away
  57. 1.525 km NE of Soledad, California · 16540 days ago · 8 km deep · 76 km away
  58. 2.723 km NE of San Lucas, California · 16539 days ago · 10 km deep · 38 km away
  59. 1.55 km SSE of Cambria, California · 16539 days ago · 0 km deep · 72 km away
  60. 2.319km SSE of Kettleman City, CA · 16539 days ago · 5 km deep · 64 km away

The first 60 of 115.

Before

  1. 1.624 km WSW of Coalinga, California · 16572 days ago · 5 km deep · 6 km away
  2. 2.320 km SSE of Tres Pinos, California · 16573 days ago · 5 km deep · 88 km away
  3. 1.637 km W of Three Rocks, California · 16573 days ago · 3 km deep · 62 km away
  4. 2.223 km W of Three Rocks, California · 16574 days ago · 8 km deep · 55 km away
  5. 1.912 km SW of Cayucos, California · 16574 days ago · 19 km deep · 82 km away
  6. 1.720 km E of Big Sur, California · 16574 days ago · 12 km deep · 95 km away
  7. 1.925 km NNE of King City, California · 16575 days ago · 5 km deep · 55 km away
  8. 2.621 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 16575 days ago · 7 km deep · 87 km away
  9. 1.52 km SE of San Ardo, California · 16576 days ago · 11 km deep · 28 km away
  10. 1.721 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 16577 days ago · 7 km deep · 87 km away
  11. 2.821 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 16577 days ago · 8 km deep · 87 km away
  12. 1.723 km NNE of San Lucas, California · 16578 days ago · 5 km deep · 43 km away
  13. 1.833 km NW of San Simeon, California · 16578 days ago · 6 km deep · 86 km away
  14. 1.524 km ENE of Greenfield, California · 16579 days ago · 6 km deep · 57 km away
  15. 1.614 km SE of Parkfield, California · 16581 days ago · 9 km deep · 33 km away
  16. 2.025 km ENE of Greenfield, California · 16582 days ago · 5 km deep · 60 km away
  17. 2.110 km W of Huron, California · 16583 days ago · 8 km deep · 38 km away
  18. 2.424 km NE of Soledad, California · 16585 days ago · 4 km deep · 79 km away
  19. 2.726 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 16585 days ago · 10 km deep · 82 km away
  20. 2.023 km NW of Parkfield, California · 16586 days ago · 3 km deep · 5 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1063447. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 4:50 PM UTC.