California earthquakes

M1.7 earthquake 59 km WSW of Ferndale, California

A magnitude 1.7 earthquake struck 59 km WSW of Ferndale, California on Sat, Jul 15, 1978, 9:31 AM PDT (16:31 UTC), 28 km (17 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.0 105 km W of Ferndale, California. This one was a foreshock.

Ferndale forecastMore in California

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude
1.7 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1978-07-15 16:31:00 UTC
Depth
27.9 km (17.3 mi), shallow
Epicenter
40.344° N, 124.901° 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 6.9 km horizontally, 8.9 km in depth
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
308°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
4

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 169 in the 60 days after this one and 65 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 169.

Before

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1041069. Read Sat, Sep 26, 2026, 7:46 PM UTC.