California earthquakes

M1.6 earthquake 14 km S of Kingvale, California

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake struck 14 km S of Kingvale, California on Fri, Dec 9, 1977, 8:05 AM PST (16:05 UTC), 3 km (2 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M1.6 5 km SSE of Alta Sierra, California. This one was a foreshock.

Sunnyside-Tahoe City forecastMore in California

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
1.6 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1977-12-09 16:05:34 UTC
Depth
2.9 km (1.8 mi), shallow
Epicenter
39.194° N, 120.430° 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 1.5 km horizontally, 7.7 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.04
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
310°, 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: 9 in the 60 days after this one and 7 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.54 km SSE of Palermo, California · 17817 days ago · 4 km deep · 96 km away
  2. 1.65 km SSE of Alta Sierra, California · 17817 days ago · 4 km deep · 53 km away
  3. 1.57 km N of Ione, California · 17816 days ago · 20 km deep · 97 km away
  4. 1.811 km SW of Markleeville, California · 17803 days ago · 5 km deep · 78 km away
  5. 1.63 km WNW of Volcano, California · 17786 days ago · 5 km deep · 85 km away
  6. 2.03 km W of Plumas Eureka (historical), California · 17784 days ago · 1 km deep · 68 km away
  7. 3.07 km S of Dayton, Nevada · 17776 days ago · 5 km deep · 73 km away
  8. 2.611 km S of Soda Springs, California · 17764 days ago · 8 km deep · 4 km away
  9. 1.815 km WSW of Coleville, California · 17759 days ago · 5 km deep · 98 km away

Before

  1. 1.53 km SSE of Rocklin, California · 17820 days ago · 13 km deep · 83 km away
  2. 2.77 km SW of Sierraville, California · 17830 days ago · 5 km deep · 38 km away
  3. 2.04 km WSW of Granite Bay, California · 17831 days ago · 12 km deep · 84 km away
  4. 1.717 km S of Kingvale, California · 17833 days ago · 19 km deep · 4 km away
  5. 2.75 km SE of Palermo, California · 17835 days ago · 6 km deep · 95 km away
  6. 2.58 km SSW of Truckee, California · 17846 days ago · 15 km deep · 20 km away
  7. 3.15 km SE of Palermo, California · 17848 days ago · 7 km deep · 94 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1038076. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 12:15 PM UTC.