M3.5 earthquake 33km NE of King City, CA
A magnitude 3.5 earthquake struck 33km NE of King City, CA on Wed, May 4, 1938, 7:30 AM GMT-8 (15:30 UTC), 6 km (4 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.5 14 km SSW of Greenfield, California. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 3.5 (ml), minor
- Local time
- UTC
- 1938-05-04 15:30:39 UTC
- Depth
- 6.0 km (3.7 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 36.402° N, 120.845° W
- Region
- California
- 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 4.5 km horizontally, 31.6 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.17
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 297°, poorly surrounded by stations
- Stations used
- 3
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.514 km SSW of Greenfield, California · 32277 days ago · 47 km away
- 3.617km ENE of King City, CA · 32259 days ago · 6 km deep · 16 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayCalifornia earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event ci3364607. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 7:28 AM UTC.