California earthquakes

M1.9 earthquake 16km SSE of San Pedro, CA

A magnitude 1.9 earthquake struck 16km SSE of San Pedro, CA on Sat, Aug 15, 1981, 9:21 PM PDT (04:21 UTC), 6 km (3 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.2 24km NNW of Santa Barbara Is., CA. This one was a foreshock.

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Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude
1.9 (mc), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-08-16 04:21:20 UTC
Depth
5.6 km (3.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter
33.596° N, 118.236° 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 1.2 km horizontally, 31.6 km in depth
Depth from
Operator assigned
Station coverage gap
157°
Stations used
7

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 197 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 197.

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event ci521249. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 10:31 PM UTC.