California earthquakes

M1.6 earthquake 38 km W of Three Rocks, California

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake struck 38 km W of Three Rocks, California on Sat, Dec 12, 1981, 5:37 PM PST (01:37 UTC), 7 km (4 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.1 28 km SE of Tres Pinos, California. 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
1.6 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-12-13 01:37:25 UTC
Depth
6.8 km (4.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter
36.528° N, 120.820° 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 0.5 km horizontally, 1.7 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.26
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
204°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
16

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 142 in the 60 days after this one and 58 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 2.29 km E of Gilroy, California · 16360 days ago · 6 km deep · 78 km away
  2. 2.623 km NE of San Ardo, California · 16360 days ago · 8 km deep · 40 km away
  3. 1.521 km NE of Soledad, California · 16360 days ago · 2 km deep · 31 km away
  4. 2.425 km ENE of Greenfield, California · 16360 days ago · 7 km deep · 20 km away
  5. 1.8Central California · 16360 days ago · 6 km deep · 20 km away
  6. 2.521 km NW of Parkfield, California · 16358 days ago · 4 km deep · 58 km away
  7. 2.08 km ENE of San Martin, California · 16357 days ago · 7 km deep · 90 km away
  8. 1.68 km ENE of San Martin, California · 16357 days ago · 7 km deep · 91 km away
  9. 1.722 km NE of Soledad, California · 16357 days ago · 2 km deep · 27 km away
  10. 1.65 km SSW of Ridgemark, California · 16357 days ago · 5 km deep · 56 km away
  11. 2.038 km W of Three Rocks, California · 16357 days ago · 7 km deep · 2 km away
  12. 1.638 km W of Three Rocks, California · 16357 days ago · 6 km deep · 2 km away
  13. 3.038 km W of Three Rocks, California · 16357 days ago · 7 km deep · 2 km away
  14. 1.88 km ENE of Morgan Hill, California · 16357 days ago · 4 km deep · 97 km away
  15. 1.632 km W of Three Rocks, California · 16357 days ago · 28 km deep · 6 km away
  16. 2.638 km W of Three Rocks, California · 16357 days ago · 6 km deep · 2 km away
  17. 1.725 km ENE of Greenfield, California · 16356 days ago · 1 km deep · 19 km away
  18. 2.738 km W of Three Rocks, California · 16356 days ago · 5 km deep · 2 km away
  19. 1.537 km W of Three Rocks, California · 16356 days ago · -1 km deep · 2 km away
  20. 1.524 km ENE of Greenfield, California · 16356 days ago · 5 km deep · 20 km away
  21. 2.538 km W of Three Rocks, California · 16355 days ago · 6 km deep · 2 km away
  22. 2.523 km ENE of Soledad, California · 16355 days ago · 5 km deep · 23 km away
  23. 1.629 km ENE of Soledad, California · 16355 days ago · 5 km deep · 21 km away
  24. 1.737 km W of Lockwood, California · 16355 days ago · 14 km deep · 87 km away
  25. 2.037 km W of Three Rocks, California · 16354 days ago · 7 km deep · 2 km away
  26. 1.938 km W of Three Rocks, California · 16354 days ago · 5 km deep · 1 km away
  27. 1.914 km WSW of Three Rocks, California · 16354 days ago · 14 km deep · 25 km away
  28. 2.324 km NE of Greenfield, California · 16354 days ago · 4 km deep · 21 km away
  29. 1.624 km ENE of Greenfield, California · 16353 days ago · 1 km deep · 20 km away
  30. 1.737 km W of Three Rocks, California · 16353 days ago · 5 km deep · 3 km away
  31. 1.925 km NE of Soledad, California · 16353 days ago · 9 km deep · 28 km away
  32. 1.825 km NE of Soledad, California · 16353 days ago · 9 km deep · 28 km away
  33. 1.523 km ENE of Soledad, California · 16353 days ago · 2 km deep · 23 km away
  34. 1.77 km NE of Aromas, California · 16352 days ago · 6 km deep · 81 km away
  35. 1.84 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 16352 days ago · 7 km deep · 49 km away
  36. 1.8Central California · 16351 days ago · 3 km deep · 89 km away
  37. 1.64 km ESE of Aromas, California · 16351 days ago · 7 km deep · 79 km away
  38. 2.021 km NE of Soledad, California · 16351 days ago · 8 km deep · 33 km away
  39. 1.72 km ESE of Aromas, California · 16350 days ago · 8 km deep · 81 km away
  40. 1.827 km W of Lockwood, California · 16350 days ago · 11 km deep · 84 km away
  41. 1.524 km NE of Greenfield, California · 16349 days ago · 7 km deep · 22 km away
  42. 2.09 km NNE of Interlaken, California · 16349 days ago · 7 km deep · 95 km away
  43. 1.931 km W of Three Rocks, California · 16349 days ago · 13 km deep · 8 km away
  44. 2.51 km E of Tres Pinos, California · 16348 days ago · 7 km deep · 52 km away
  45. 1.725 km SSW of South Dos Palos, California · 16348 days ago · 2 km deep · 26 km away
  46. 1.524 km SSW of South Dos Palos, California · 16348 days ago · 0 km deep · 27 km away
  47. 1.812 km W of Three Rocks, California · 16348 days ago · 10 km deep · 27 km away
  48. 1.825 km ENE of Greenfield, California · 16348 days ago · 6 km deep · 19 km away
  49. 2.024 km NE of San Lucas, California · 16347 days ago · 6 km deep · 29 km away
  50. 1.85 km SW of Gilroy, California · 16347 days ago · 3 km deep · 86 km away
  51. 1.521 km NE of Soledad, California · 16347 days ago · 8 km deep · 28 km away
  52. 1.610 km SE of San Juan Bautista, California · 16347 days ago · 7 km deep · 64 km away
  53. 1.514 km SW of Coalinga, California · 16346 days ago · 6 km deep · 59 km away
  54. 1.68 km NNE of Interlaken, California · 16346 days ago · 10 km deep · 94 km away
  55. 1.612 km ENE of Hollister, California · 16346 days ago · 4 km deep · 58 km away
  56. 1.610 km SSE of Three Rocks, California · 16346 days ago · 5 km deep · 43 km away
  57. 2.19 km NW of Hollister, California · 16346 days ago · 7 km deep · 72 km away
  58. 1.621 km NE of Soledad, California · 16346 days ago · 3 km deep · 31 km away
  59. 1.833 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 16345 days ago · 7 km deep · 20 km away
  60. 2.024 km NE of King City, California · 16344 days ago · 0 km deep · 20 km away

The first 60 of 142.

Before

  1. 1.89 km NNE of San Juan Bautista, California · 16362 days ago · 2 km deep · 76 km away
  2. 1.96 km SSE of Gilroy, California · 16362 days ago · 4 km deep · 80 km away
  3. 1.79 km NE of San Martin, California · 16362 days ago · 5 km deep · 95 km away
  4. 3.225 km ENE of Greenfield, California · 16362 days ago · 7 km deep · 20 km away
  5. 1.730 km SE of Big Sur, California · 16362 days ago · 11 km deep · 86 km away
  6. 2.54 km WNW of San Juan Bautista, California · 16363 days ago · 6 km deep · 78 km away
  7. 1.69 km E of San Martin, California · 16363 days ago · 8 km deep · 87 km away
  8. 1.99 km SSW of Tres Pinos, California · 16364 days ago · 3 km deep · 51 km away
  9. 2.1Central California · 16364 days ago · 3 km deep · 61 km away
  10. 2.07 km NW of El Nido, California · 16364 days ago · 10 km deep · 78 km away
  11. 2.38 km NE of San Martin, California · 16366 days ago · 8 km deep · 92 km away
  12. 1.921 km NE of Soledad, California · 16367 days ago · 6 km deep · 29 km away
  13. 1.72 km NNW of Hollister, California · 16368 days ago · 7 km deep · 65 km away
  14. 3.122 km NE of San Ardo, California · 16369 days ago · 8 km deep · 40 km away
  15. 1.830 km SW of South Dos Palos, California · 16370 days ago · 4 km deep · 26 km away
  16. 1.730 km SW of South Dos Palos, California · 16370 days ago · 1 km deep · 26 km away
  17. 1.721 km WSW of Greenfield, California · 16371 days ago · 12 km deep · 66 km away
  18. 2.05 km SSW of Ridgemark, California · 16371 days ago · 9 km deep · 58 km away
  19. 1.625 km SSW of Los Banos, California · 16371 days ago · 2 km deep · 36 km away
  20. 1.612 km N of Hollister, California · 16372 days ago · 6 km deep · 73 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1070251. Read Mon, Sep 28, 2026, 9:48 AM UTC.