Reviewed by USGSCalifornia45y ago
M2.6 earthquake 36 km SW of Ferndale, California
Saturday, November 28, 1981, 19:28:12 UTC · 40.310°N, 124.523°W
A magnitude 2.6 earthquake struck 36 km SW of Ferndale, California on Saturday, November 28, 1981, 19:28:12 UTC, at a depth of 27.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 2.6
- Minor · md
- Depth
- 27 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
108 kg of TNT
That is about 1/139,425 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4,416 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
0 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North American and Pacific plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
27 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 50 km
USGS lists 7 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M3.5 on December 26, 1981. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 2.536 km SW of Ferndale, California45y ago · 3 km NW of this epicenter
- 3.538 km SW of Ferndale, California45y ago · 3 km W of this epicenter
- 2.815 km SW of Ferndale, California45y ago · 21 km NE of this epicenter
- 2.528 km SSW of Ferndale, California45y ago · 9 km NE of this epicenter
- 3.012 km W of Ferndale, California45y ago · 32 km N of this epicenter
- 2.935 km SSW of Ferndale, California45y ago · 4 km E of this epicenter
- 3.036 km WSW of Ferndale, California45y ago · 13 km NW of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 132 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.4123 km W of Big Lagoon, CaliforniaJanuary 31, 1922 · 134 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.2The 1980 Eureka, California EarthquakeNovember 8, 1980 · 93 km N of this epicenter
- 7.1The 1923 Humboldt County, California EarthquakeJanuary 22, 1923 · 47 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.8123 km W of Ferndale, CaliforniaNovember 25, 1954 · 102 km W of this epicenter
- 6.884 km W of Ferndale, CaliforniaFebruary 9, 1941 · 73 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.8off the coast of Northern CaliforniaJuly 6, 1934 · 129 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.552 km WNW of Big Lagoon, CaliforniaJuly 15, 1918 · 114 km N of this epicenter
- 6.568 km W of Ferndale, CaliforniaOctober 3, 1941 · 50 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 17 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 3 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1969M4.8
Santa Rosa
2 Oct 1969 · 258 km away · intensity VIII
1 death$8 million damage
- 1954M6.6
Humboldt County
21 Dec 1954 · 80 km away
1 death$2 million damage
- 1932M6.5
Eureka
6 Jun 1932 · 51 km away · intensity VIII
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1980M7.2
North Coast
8 Nov 1980 · 93 km away · intensity VII
$2 million damage
- 1898M6.5
Sonoma County
31 Mar 1898 · 297 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1975M5.6
Oroville
1 Aug 1975 · 273 km away · intensity VIII
$3 million damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.