California earthquakes

M3.3 earthquake 27 km SSW of Ferndale, California

A magnitude 3.3 earthquake struck 27 km SSW of Ferndale, California on Sat, Oct 28, 1978, 9:33 PM PDT (04:33 UTC), 19 km (12 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.8 37 km SW of Ferndale, California. This one was a foreshock.

Ferndale forecastMore in California

Map

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

Open the live map with earthquakes

The earthquake

Magnitude
3.3 (ml), minor
Local time
UTC
1978-10-29 04:33:03 UTC
Depth
18.7 km (11.6 mi), shallow
Epicenter
40.363° N, 124.430° 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 1.7 km horizontally, 0.4 km in depth
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
253°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
14

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 145 in the 60 days after this one and 54 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 145.

Before

Earthquakes todayCalifornia earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1043064 (also filed as usp0000x62). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:52 PM UTC.