California earthquakes

M3.1 earthquake 5 km WSW of Paskenta, California

A magnitude 3.1 earthquake struck 5 km WSW of Paskenta, California on Wed, Jul 1, 1981, 6:28 PM PDT (01:28 UTC), 4 km (3 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.2 11 km WSW of Hayfork, California. This one was a foreshock.

Rancho Tehama Reserve 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
3.1 (ML, local (Richter)), minor
Magnitude from
Northern California Seismic System
Local time
UTC
1981-07-02 01:28:22 UTC
Depth
4.4 km (2.8 mi), shallow
Epicenter
39.870° N, 122.605° W
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

Magnitude estimates

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.ScaleComputed byNotes
3.1ML, local (Richter)Northern California Seismic SystemPreferred · Final · 0 stations
3.2ML, local (Richter)USGS National Earthquake Information CenterReviewed

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 0.7 km horizontally, 2.1 km in depth
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
86°
Stations used
46

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 50 in the 60 days after this one and 18 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.96 km W of Stonyford, California · 16528 days ago · 0 km deep · 56 km away
  2. 2.24 km W of Stonyford, California · 16528 days ago · 3 km deep · 56 km away
  3. 1.75 km WNW of Potter Valley, California · 16526 days ago · -1 km deep · 76 km away
  4. 2.14 km NNE of Clearlake, California · 16525 days ago · 0 km deep · 97 km away
  5. 2.13 km WSW of Redwood Valley, California · 16524 days ago · 2 km deep · 87 km away
  6. 2.18 km NNW of Redwood Valley, California · 16523 days ago · 1 km deep · 82 km away
  7. 1.818 km NE of Potter Valley, California · 16522 days ago · 7 km deep · 57 km away
  8. 1.912 km N of Alderpoint, California · 16522 days ago · 29 km deep · 99 km away
  9. 2.08 km NW of Redwood Valley, California · 16521 days ago · 2 km deep · 82 km away
  10. 1.822 km NE of Potter Valley, California · 16521 days ago · 11 km deep · 53 km away
  11. 1.87 km NNW of Redwood Valley, California · 16520 days ago · 5 km deep · 82 km away
  12. 1.919 km ENE of Potter Valley, California · 16519 days ago · 9 km deep · 60 km away
  13. 1.824 km NE of Potter Valley, California · 16518 days ago · 12 km deep · 51 km away
  14. 1.88 km NW of Redwood Valley, California · 16518 days ago · 3 km deep · 83 km away
  15. 2.122 km WNW of Elk Creek, California · 16518 days ago · 6 km deep · 29 km away
  16. 1.919 km ENE of Potter Valley, California · 16518 days ago · 11 km deep · 60 km away
  17. 1.52 km WSW of Redwood Valley, California · 16517 days ago · 6 km deep · 87 km away
  18. 2.611 km NE of Nord, California · 16515 days ago · 21 km deep · 64 km away
  19. 2.3Northern California · 16513 days ago · 2 km deep · 92 km away
  20. 2.86 km NNW of Thermalito, California · 16513 days ago · 2 km deep · 92 km away
  21. 2.913 km E of Bend, California · 16511 days ago · 24 km deep · 63 km away
  22. 1.52 km ESE of Nord, California · 16511 days ago · 14 km deep · 59 km away
  23. 1.8Northern California · 16511 days ago · 9 km deep · 81 km away
  24. 2.04 km ESE of Calpella, California · 16509 days ago · 6 km deep · 87 km away
  25. 1.67 km E of Willits, California · 16509 days ago · 8 km deep · 76 km away
  26. 2.75 km ESE of Chico, California · 16508 days ago · 19 km deep · 73 km away
  27. 2.311 km N of Covelo, California · 16508 days ago · 0 km deep · 56 km away
  28. 2.210 km ESE of Potter Valley, California · 16507 days ago · -1 km deep · 73 km away
  29. 2.322 km WNW of Elk Creek, California · 16503 days ago · 7 km deep · 29 km away
  30. 1.512 km SSW of Laytonville, California · 16502 days ago · 1 km deep · 86 km away
  31. 1.54 km SSE of Potter Valley, California · 16502 days ago · 10 km deep · 77 km away
  32. 2.522 km NE of Potter Valley, California · 16501 days ago · 12 km deep · 53 km away
  33. 1.86 km WSW of Durham, California · 16499 days ago · 29 km deep · 70 km away
  34. 1.715 km S of Leggett, California · 16499 days ago · -1 km deep · 98 km away
  35. 1.99 km NW of Redwood Valley, California · 16498 days ago · 5 km deep · 84 km away
  36. 1.97 km ESE of Los Molinos, California · 16493 days ago · 3 km deep · 52 km away
  37. 1.66 km ESE of Talmage, California · 16491 days ago · 8 km deep · 94 km away
  38. 1.610 km ESE of Willits, California · 16487 days ago · 6 km deep · 76 km away
  39. 1.54 km WNW of Potter Valley, California · 16486 days ago · 9 km deep · 76 km away
  40. 1.69 km NE of Comptche, California · 16485 days ago · 5 km deep · 99 km away
  41. 1.67 km NNW of Redwood Valley, California · 16484 days ago · 4 km deep · 81 km away
  42. 1.54 km WNW of Potter Valley, California · 16483 days ago · -1 km deep · 76 km away
  43. 1.51 km E of Oroville, California · 16481 days ago · 10 km deep · 100 km away
  44. 2.112 km SSE of Mad River, California · 16480 days ago · 27 km deep · 90 km away
  45. 1.8near the coast of Northern California · 16480 days ago · 5 km deep · 86 km away
  46. 1.723 km NE of Potter Valley, California · 16475 days ago · 10 km deep · 52 km away
  47. 1.87 km S of Laytonville, California · 16474 days ago · 4 km deep · 79 km away
  48. 1.86 km W of Laytonville, California · 16473 days ago · 2 km deep · 84 km away
  49. 3.211 km WSW of Hayfork, California · 16471 days ago · 30 km deep · 92 km away
  50. 1.719 km ENE of Potter Valley, California · 16470 days ago · 11 km deep · 58 km away

Before

  1. 1.67 km NW of Redwood Valley, California · 16530 days ago · 7 km deep · 83 km away
  2. 1.62 km SE of Talmage, California · 16531 days ago · 5 km deep · 95 km away
  3. 2.05 km ESE of Talmage, California · 16531 days ago · 7 km deep · 94 km away
  4. 2.11 km SW of Stonyford, California · 16534 days ago · 7 km deep · 57 km away
  5. 1.87 km E of Manton, California · 16535 days ago · 3 km deep · 93 km away
  6. 2.421 km WSW of Williams, California · 16539 days ago · -1 km deep · 90 km away
  7. 3.518 km WSW of Williams, California · 16539 days ago · 12 km deep · 89 km away
  8. 2.415 km SSW of Mad River, California · 16541 days ago · 7 km deep · 100 km away
  9. 2.111 km NNE of Covelo, California · 16543 days ago · 9 km deep · 53 km away
  10. 2.610 km N of Covelo, California · 16546 days ago · 4 km deep · 53 km away
  11. 1.724 km WNW of Elk Creek, California · 16547 days ago · 5 km deep · 30 km away
  12. 2.06 km E of Covelo, California · 16547 days ago · 1 km deep · 50 km away
  13. 1.95 km NNE of Brooktrails, California · 16550 days ago · 7 km deep · 78 km away
  14. 1.612 km N of Brooktrails, California · 16551 days ago · 8 km deep · 73 km away
  15. 2.213 km WNW of Cohasset, California · 16552 days ago · 15 km deep · 63 km away
  16. 2.0Northern California · 16554 days ago · 20 km deep · 44 km away
  17. 1.69 km ESE of Willits, California · 16557 days ago · 8 km deep · 76 km away
  18. 3.59 km ESE of Willits, California · 16557 days ago · 9 km deep · 76 km away

Earthquakes todayCalifornia earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1065061 (also filed as usp0001eff). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 7:50 PM UTC.