California earthquakes

M1.6 earthquake 34 km W of Ferndale, California

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake struck 34 km W of Ferndale, California on Sat, Sep 16, 1978, 1:48 PM PDT (20:48 UTC), 13 km (8 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.3 114 km W of Ferndale, California. This one was a foreshock.

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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
1.6 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1978-09-16 20:48:11 UTC
Depth
13.4 km (8.3 mi), shallow
Epicenter
40.602° N, 124.673° 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 1.3 km horizontally, 1.6 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.06
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
272°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
8

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 191 in the 60 days after this one and 8 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 191.

Before

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1042340. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 10:30 PM UTC.