California earthquakes

M3.1 earthquake 8 km SW of Whitehawk, California

A magnitude 3.1 earthquake struck 8 km SW of Whitehawk, California on Wed, Jan 28, 1981, 1:12 AM PST (09:12 UTC), 3 km (2 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.3 6 km NNE of Butte Meadows, 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
3.1 (md), minor
Local time
UTC
1981-01-28 09:12:17 UTC
Depth
2.7 km (1.7 mi), shallow
Epicenter
39.677° N, 120.631° 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 0.7 km horizontally, 1.1 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.04
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
250°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
20

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 41 in the 60 days after this one and 16 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 2.18 km SW of Whitehawk, California · 16673 days ago · 26 km deep · 2 km away
  2. 3.36 km NNE of Butte Meadows, California · 16673 days ago · -1 km deep · 91 km away
  3. 1.64 km SW of Whitehawk, California · 16671 days ago · 3 km deep · 4 km away
  4. 1.57 km SSW of Kingvale, California · 16670 days ago · 6 km deep · 49 km away
  5. 2.34 km SSW of Kingvale, California · 16670 days ago · 18 km deep · 46 km away
  6. 2.310 km SSW of Kingvale, California · 16667 days ago · 12 km deep · 52 km away
  7. 1.63 km S of East Quincy, California · 16664 days ago · 8 km deep · 33 km away
  8. 2.24 km WSW of Whitehawk, California · 16664 days ago · 4 km deep · 4 km away
  9. 2.57 km WSW of Lake Almanor West, California · 16657 days ago · 4 km deep · 80 km away
  10. 2.12 km SW of Forest Ranch, California · 16656 days ago · 20 km deep · 93 km away
  11. 2.18 km SSW of Kingvale, California · 16656 days ago · 14 km deep · 49 km away
  12. 1.95 km WSW of Whitehawk, California · 16655 days ago · 0 km deep · 3 km away
  13. 2.19 km S of East Quincy, California · 16654 days ago · 2 km deep · 30 km away
  14. 2.04 km SE of Palermo, California · 16654 days ago · 6 km deep · 80 km away
  15. 2.02 km SSE of Cromberg, California · 16653 days ago · -1 km deep · 18 km away
  16. 3.07 km SW of Whitehawk, California · 16651 days ago · -1 km deep · 2 km away
  17. 2.04 km SW of Whitehawk, California · 16651 days ago · 0 km deep · 4 km away
  18. 2.47 km N of Little Grass Valley, California · 16651 days ago · 21 km deep · 32 km away
  19. 1.810 km SE of Soda Springs, California · 16650 days ago · 32 km deep · 56 km away
  20. 1.97 km E of Cromberg, California · 16647 days ago · 5 km deep · 20 km away
  21. 2.07 km WSW of Lake Almanor West, California · 16645 days ago · 3 km deep · 80 km away
  22. 2.58 km SW of Clio, California · 16639 days ago · 14 km deep · 1 km away
  23. 1.95 km SSW of Kingvale, California · 16639 days ago · 7 km deep · 47 km away
  24. 2.34 km SSW of Prattville, California · 16631 days ago · -1 km deep · 71 km away
  25. 1.9Northern California · 16630 days ago · 17 km deep · 98 km away
  26. 2.7Northern California · 16630 days ago · 7 km deep · 81 km away
  27. 1.89 km SE of Alta, California · 16629 days ago · 0 km deep · 60 km away
  28. 2.49 km SW of Lake Almanor West, California · 16628 days ago · 4 km deep · 77 km away
  29. 1.63 km SSW of Soda Springs, California · 16628 days ago · 15 km deep · 47 km away
  30. 2.34 km SE of Palermo, California · 16626 days ago · 8 km deep · 80 km away
  31. 1.69 km WNW of Plumas Eureka (historical), California · 16617 days ago · 7 km deep · 20 km away
  32. 3.58 km NNW of Truckee, California · 16615 days ago · 9 km deep · 47 km away
  33. 2.211 km NW of Truckee, California · 16615 days ago · 7 km deep · 43 km away
  34. 2.011 km NNW of Truckee, California · 16615 days ago · 11 km deep · 44 km away
  35. 2.011 km N of Truckee, California · 16615 days ago · 7 km deep · 48 km away
  36. 2.29 km NNW of Truckee, California · 16615 days ago · 12 km deep · 47 km away
  37. 2.39 km NNW of Truckee, California · 16615 days ago · 14 km deep · 46 km away
  38. 3.88 km NNW of Truckee, California · 16615 days ago · 5 km deep · 47 km away
  39. 2.39 km NNW of Truckee, California · 16615 days ago · 11 km deep · 45 km away
  40. 1.710 km NNW of Truckee, California · 16615 days ago · 13 km deep · 44 km away
  41. 2.99 km NW of Truckee, California · 16614 days ago · 14 km deep · 45 km away

Before

  1. 3.17 km SW of Whitehawk, California · 16674 days ago · 4 km deep · 1 km away
  2. 1.56 km S of Kingvale, California · 16680 days ago · 10 km deep · 48 km away
  3. 1.78 km SW of Clio, California · 16683 days ago · 14 km deep · 2 km away
  4. 1.65 km SW of Whitehawk, California · 16683 days ago · 8 km deep · 3 km away
  5. 1.74 km WSW of Whitehawk, California · 16687 days ago · 7 km deep · 4 km away
  6. 2.86 km SSW of Kingvale, California · 16691 days ago · 12 km deep · 48 km away
  7. 2.11 km S of Whitehawk, California · 16693 days ago · -1 km deep · 8 km away
  8. 2.66 km SSW of Meadow Valley, California · 16696 days ago · 17 km deep · 44 km away
  9. 1.66 km SW of Whitehawk, California · 16698 days ago · 6 km deep · 2 km away
  10. 3.22 km SW of Whitehawk, California · 16698 days ago · 0 km deep · 6 km away
  11. 1.73 km E of Whitehawk, California · 16698 days ago · 9 km deep · 11 km away
  12. 2.69 km SSW of Kingvale, California · 16698 days ago · 15 km deep · 50 km away
  13. 2.73 km SW of Whitehawk, California · 16699 days ago · 4 km deep · 5 km away
  14. 2.97 km WSW of Whitehawk, California · 16699 days ago · 8 km deep · 1 km away
  15. 2.09 km SW of Whitehawk, California · 16699 days ago · 7 km deep · 2 km away
  16. 3.66 km SW of Whitehawk, California · 16699 days ago · 0 km deep · 3 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1059722. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 10:27 PM UTC.