California earthquakes

M1.5 earthquake 11 km NNE of Potter Valley, California

A magnitude 1.5 earthquake struck 11 km NNE of Potter Valley, California on Tue, Nov 24, 1981, 9:04 PM PST (05:04 UTC), 3 km (2 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M1.6 7 km W of Cobb, California. This one was a foreshock.

Potter Valley forecast More in California

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Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 1.5 (md), micro
Local time: Tue, Nov 24, 1981, 9:04 PM PST
UTC: 1981-11-25 05:04:32 UTC
Depth: 2.6 km (1.6 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 39.427° N, 123.085° 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, 2.9 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.13
Depth from: From location
Station coverage gap: 89°
Stations used: 12

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 176 in the 60 days after this one and 22 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 176.

Before

Earthquakes today California earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1069706. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:10 PM UTC.