April 26, 1981 Earthquake: Westmorland,calipatria, California, United States
A magnitude 6 earthquake struck Westmorland,calipatria, California, United States on April 26, 1981 at 12:09:28 UTC, 6 km below the surface.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- April 26, 1981
- Time
- 12:09:28 UTC
- Place
- Westmorland,calipatria, California, United States
- Magnitude
- 6 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 6 km (4 mi)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 33.133° N, 115.650° W
- Country
- United States
The toll
- Damage
- $1.5 million
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- May 19, 1940, California, Mexico, United States
- June 23, 1915, El Centro, California, United States
- December 25, 1899, California, United States
- June 28, 1992, Landers, Yucca Valley, California, United States
- November 24, 1987, Superstition Hills, California, United States
- April 4, 2010, Baja California, Mexico
- January 1, 1927, California, Mexico, United States
- June 9, 1980, Northwestern Mexico
- April 21, 1918, San Jacinto, Hemet, California, United States
- June 15, 2010, Ocotillo, California, United States
- October 15, 1979, Mexicali, Imperial Valley, Mexico, California, United States
- February 24, 1892, San Diego, California, Baja California, USA, Mexico
- November 29, 1852, N. Mexico
- February 9, 2008, Baja California, Mexico
- December 30, 2009, Mexicali, Mexico
More
Significant earthquakes of 1981The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1981Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 4919.