California earthquakes

M3.4 earthquake Central California

A magnitude 3.4 earthquake struck in Central California on Thu, Feb 27, 1975, 3:22 PM PDT (22:22 UTC), 12 km (7 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.2 10 km NNW of Hollister, 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
3.4 (ML, local (Richter)), minor
Magnitude from
Northern California Seismic System
Local time
UTC
1975-02-27 22:22:55 UTC
Depth
11.9 km (7.4 mi), shallow
Epicenter
36.208° N, 121.633° W
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

Magnitude estimates

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.ScaleComputed byNotes
3.4ML, local (Richter)Northern California Seismic SystemPreferred · Final · 0 stations
3.4ML, local (Richter)USGS National Earthquake Information CenterReviewed

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 0.4 km horizontally, 0.7 km in depth
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
136°
Stations used
61

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 198 in the 60 days after this one and 121 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 198.

Before

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1022985 (also filed as usp0000a2c). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 4:51 PM UTC.