California earthquakes

M1.6 earthquake 11 km ENE of Scotia, California

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake struck 11 km ENE of Scotia, California on Sun, Dec 20, 1981, 8:34 AM PST (16:34 UTC), 3 km (2 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M1.8 13 km WSW of Willow Creek, California. This one was a foreshock.

Scotia 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
1981-12-20 16:34:30 UTC
Depth
3.3 km (2.0 mi), shallow
Epicenter
40.508° N, 123.974° 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 1.0 km horizontally, 0.5 km in depth
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
201°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
4

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 94 in the 60 days after this one and 54 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.813 km WSW of Willow Creek, California · 16347 days ago · 23 km deep · 47 km away
  2. 1.54 km S of Scotia, California · 16346 days ago · 25 km deep · 13 km away
  3. 2.149 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16346 days ago · 25 km deep · 67 km away
  4. 2.337 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16344 days ago · 22 km deep · 51 km away
  5. 1.82 km E of Pine Hills, California · 16344 days ago · 4 km deep · 28 km away
  6. 3.538 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16341 days ago · 27 km deep · 54 km away
  7. 2.536 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16340 days ago · 26 km deep · 53 km away
  8. 2.06 km ESE of Ferndale, California · 16340 days ago · 12 km deep · 19 km away
  9. 2.117 km NNW of Willow Creek, California · 16340 days ago · 33 km deep · 67 km away
  10. 1.84 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16340 days ago · 7 km deep · 29 km away
  11. 1.611 km WSW of Redcrest, California · 16340 days ago · 26 km deep · 18 km away
  12. 2.511 km NNW of Alderpoint, California · 16338 days ago · 24 km deep · 38 km away
  13. 1.819 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16337 days ago · 23 km deep · 43 km away
  14. 1.614 km ESE of Pine Hills, California · 16337 days ago · 23 km deep · 20 km away
  15. 2.69 km WSW of Indianola, California · 16336 days ago · 11 km deep · 36 km away
  16. 1.52 km ENE of Westhaven-Moonstone, California · 16335 days ago · 23 km deep · 61 km away
  17. 1.710 km NNE of Redcrest, California · 16334 days ago · 20 km deep · 5 km away
  18. 1.732 km SW of Scotia, California · 16333 days ago · 5 km deep · 43 km away
  19. 1.932 km SW of Scotia, California · 16333 days ago · 20 km deep · 43 km away
  20. 2.41 km ENE of Loleta, California · 16333 days ago · 21 km deep · 25 km away
  21. 1.516 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16333 days ago · 20 km deep · 38 km away
  22. 2.119 km NNE of Redcrest, California · 16332 days ago · 4 km deep · 12 km away
  23. 2.53 km S of Indianola, California · 16332 days ago · 15 km deep · 32 km away
  24. 2.113 km NNW of Ruth, California · 16331 days ago · 26 km deep · 52 km away
  25. 1.651 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16331 days ago · 13 km deep · 70 km away
  26. 3.15 km WSW of McKinleyville, California · 16331 days ago · 0 km deep · 49 km away
  27. 1.635 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 16330 days ago · 27 km deep · 48 km away
  28. 2.538 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16330 days ago · 21 km deep · 53 km away
  29. 2.977 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16330 days ago · 8 km deep · 100 km away
  30. 3.325 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16329 days ago · 19 km deep · 41 km away
  31. 2.417 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16328 days ago · 22 km deep · 41 km away
  32. 1.630 km WNW of Ferndale, California · 16328 days ago · 28 km deep · 56 km away
  33. 1.84 km ENE of Miranda, California · 16328 days ago · 30 km deep · 33 km away
  34. 3.832 km SW of Scotia, California · 16328 days ago · 23 km deep · 43 km away
  35. 2.633 km SW of Scotia, California · 16328 days ago · 23 km deep · 43 km away
  36. 3.433 km SW of Scotia, California · 16328 days ago · 23 km deep · 44 km away
  37. 2.439 km WNW of Samoa, California · 16328 days ago · 25 km deep · 75 km away
  38. 1.913 km SW of Hayfork, California · 16327 days ago · 22 km deep · 56 km away
  39. 2.015 km ENE of Redcrest, California · 16327 days ago · 25 km deep · 19 km away
  40. 1.629 km SW of Scotia, California · 16326 days ago · 20 km deep · 39 km away
  41. 2.133 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16325 days ago · 24 km deep · 51 km away
  42. 2.48 km NE of Hydesville, California · 16324 days ago · 19 km deep · 12 km away
  43. 2.415 km W of Mad River, California · 16324 days ago · 4 km deep · 25 km away
  44. 1.741 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16323 days ago · 16 km deep · 62 km away
  45. 2.146 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16322 days ago · 15 km deep · 69 km away
  46. 1.64 km NNE of Myers Flat, California · 16322 days ago · 20 km deep · 25 km away
  47. 1.9near the coast of Northern California · 16322 days ago · 4 km deep · 33 km away
  48. 1.56 km WSW of Scotia, California · 16319 days ago · 27 km deep · 17 km away
  49. 2.122 km NNW of Shelter Cove, California · 16319 days ago · 7 km deep · 38 km away
  50. 2.811 km E of Redcrest, California · 16318 days ago · 21 km deep · 19 km away
  51. 1.513 km SSW of Scotia, California · 16318 days ago · 25 km deep · 23 km away
  52. 2.318 km SE of Orick, California · 16316 days ago · 22 km deep · 73 km away
  53. 2.265 km WNW of Ferndale, California · 16316 days ago · 13 km deep · 91 km away
  54. 2.033 km SW of Scotia, California · 16315 days ago · 22 km deep · 43 km away
  55. 2.228 km SW of Scotia, California · 16313 days ago · 4 km deep · 38 km away
  56. 2.111 km E of Hydesville, California · 16312 days ago · 20 km deep · 5 km away
  57. 2.559 km W of Trinidad, California · 16310 days ago · 23 km deep · 97 km away
  58. 1.819 km NE of Hydesville, California · 16309 days ago · 23 km deep · 17 km away
  59. 2.565 km W of Indianola, California · 16309 days ago · 5 km deep · 92 km away
  60. 2.24 km WSW of Loleta, California · 16309 days ago · 19 km deep · 28 km away

The first 60 of 94.

Before

  1. 1.541 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16347 days ago · 15 km deep · 56 km away
  2. 2.210 km W of Laytonville, California · 16348 days ago · 49 km deep · 95 km away
  3. 1.69 km NNE of Laytonville, California · 16348 days ago · 4 km deep · 93 km away
  4. 1.618 km SW of Scotia, California · 16349 days ago · 33 km deep · 28 km away
  5. 2.815 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16349 days ago · 22 km deep · 36 km away
  6. 2.444 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16349 days ago · 18 km deep · 62 km away
  7. 1.936 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16349 days ago · 23 km deep · 59 km away
  8. 2.066 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16350 days ago · 5 km deep · 88 km away
  9. 2.541 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16351 days ago · 7 km deep · 65 km away
  10. 1.67 km WNW of McKinleyville, California · 16351 days ago · 4 km deep · 55 km away
  11. 1.810 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 16351 days ago · 27 km deep · 29 km away
  12. 1.94 km ENE of Weott, California · 16351 days ago · -1 km deep · 21 km away
  13. 2.528 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 16352 days ago · 18 km deep · 43 km away
  14. 1.710 km NNE of Redcrest, California · 16352 days ago · 20 km deep · 5 km away
  15. 2.022 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16352 days ago · 25 km deep · 44 km away
  16. 1.723 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16352 days ago · 25 km deep · 44 km away
  17. 1.726 km SW of Ferndale, California · 16352 days ago · 38 km deep · 46 km away
  18. 2.05 km WSW of Scotia, California · 16352 days ago · 19 km deep · 16 km away
  19. 2.348 km W of Ferndale, California · 16353 days ago · 14 km deep · 74 km away
  20. 1.825 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 16354 days ago · 25 km deep · 46 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1070487. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 10:30 PM UTC.