California earthquakes

M1.7 earthquake 10 km S of Ferndale, California

A magnitude 1.7 earthquake struck 10 km S of Ferndale, California on Wed, Dec 27, 1978, 6:48 PM PST (02:48 UTC), 19 km (12 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.2 50 km W 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.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
1.7 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1978-12-28 02:48:20 UTC
Depth
18.6 km (11.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter
40.486° N, 124.275° 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 0.7 km horizontally, 0.6 km in depth
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
174°
Stations used
10

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 135 in the 60 days after this one and 64 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.546 km W of Ferndale, California · 17433 days ago · 7 km deep · 47 km away
  2. 2.250 km W of Ferndale, California · 17433 days ago · 23 km deep · 50 km away
  3. 1.917 km WNW of Manila, California · 17433 days ago · 5 km deep · 50 km away
  4. 2.724 km NNE of Trinity Village, California · 17433 days ago · 39 km deep · 98 km away
  5. 2.023 km W of Ferndale, California · 17432 days ago · 22 km deep · 26 km away
  6. 1.96 km SE of Indianola, California · 17432 days ago · 25 km deep · 38 km away
  7. 1.626 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 17432 days ago · 25 km deep · 22 km away
  8. 1.523 km W of Ferndale, California · 17432 days ago · 19 km deep · 23 km away
  9. 1.73 km WSW of Loleta, California · 17431 days ago · 18 km deep · 16 km away
  10. 1.811 km E of Pine Hills, California · 17430 days ago · 22 km deep · 33 km away
  11. 1.711 km W of Trinidad, California · 17430 days ago · 19 km deep · 63 km away
  12. 1.53 km S of Ferndale, California · 17430 days ago · 9 km deep · 6 km away
  13. 1.91 km SSW of Big Lagoon, California · 17430 days ago · 18 km deep · 74 km away
  14. 2.07 km W of Indianola, California · 17429 days ago · 23 km deep · 21 km away
  15. 1.959 km W of Trinidad, California · 17427 days ago · 2 km deep · 76 km away
  16. 1.755 km W of Trinidad, California · 17426 days ago · 6 km deep · 74 km away
  17. 3.026 km SW of Ferndale, California · 17426 days ago · 21 km deep · 20 km away
  18. 1.625 km SW of Ferndale, California · 17426 days ago · 27 km deep · 20 km away
  19. 2.425 km SW of Ferndale, California · 17426 days ago · 26 km deep · 20 km away
  20. 1.624 km SW of Ferndale, California · 17426 days ago · 27 km deep · 19 km away
  21. 1.625 km SW of Ferndale, California · 17426 days ago · 25 km deep · 19 km away
  22. 2.63 km WSW of Loleta, California · 17424 days ago · 18 km deep · 16 km away
  23. 3.336 km SW of Ferndale, California · 17423 days ago · 23 km deep · 28 km away
  24. 2.624 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 17423 days ago · 5 km deep · 15 km away
  25. 2.79 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 17423 days ago · 23 km deep · 1 km away
  26. 2.927 km SW of Ferndale, California · 17423 days ago · 19 km deep · 20 km away
  27. 1.631 km SW of Ferndale, California · 17422 days ago · 14 km deep · 25 km away
  28. 1.951 km SW of Ferndale, California · 17422 days ago · 5 km deep · 46 km away
  29. 1.69 km S of Ferndale, California · 17422 days ago · 19 km deep · 1 km away
  30. 1.733 km SW of Ferndale, California · 17422 days ago · 15 km deep · 28 km away
  31. 2.32 km WSW of Loleta, California · 17422 days ago · 18 km deep · 16 km away
  32. 2.010 km SSW of Ferndale, CA · 17421 days ago · 19 km deep · 1 km away
  33. 1.911 km S of Ruth, California · 17420 days ago · 30 km deep · 87 km away
  34. 2.410 km NW of Fields Landing, California · 17420 days ago · 24 km deep · 33 km away
  35. 2.54 km NE of Hydesville, California · 17419 days ago · 3 km deep · 20 km away
  36. 2.029 km SW of Ferndale, California · 17419 days ago · 18 km deep · 22 km away
  37. 1.99 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 17417 days ago · 18 km deep · 1 km away
  38. 1.928 km SW of Ferndale, California · 17417 days ago · 17 km deep · 20 km away
  39. 1.614 km ENE of Hydesville, California · 17417 days ago · 21 km deep · 31 km away
  40. 2.143 km SW of Ferndale, California · 17417 days ago · 34 km deep · 37 km away
  41. 2.037 km SW of Ferndale, California · 17417 days ago · 23 km deep · 30 km away
  42. 1.925 km SW of Scotia, California · 17413 days ago · 18 km deep · 16 km away
  43. 1.733 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 17413 days ago · 23 km deep · 31 km away
  44. 2.675 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 17412 days ago · 25 km deep · 73 km away
  45. 2.33 km NNW of Redway, California · 17410 days ago · 19 km deep · 53 km away
  46. 2.33 km NNW of Redway, California · 17410 days ago · 18 km deep · 53 km away
  47. 3.428 km WNW of Ferndale, California · 17409 days ago · 22 km deep · 32 km away
  48. 2.326 km WNW of Ferndale, California · 17409 days ago · 22 km deep · 31 km away
  49. 1.618 km SW of Ferndale, California · 17409 days ago · 18 km deep · 14 km away
  50. 1.873 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 17409 days ago · 5 km deep · 70 km away
  51. 2.410 km ENE of Hydesville, California · 17408 days ago · 21 km deep · 27 km away
  52. 3.3off the coast of Northern California · 17407 days ago · 41 km deep · 77 km away
  53. 1.924 km SW of Ferndale, California · 17406 days ago · 18 km deep · 19 km away
  54. 1.924 km SW of Ferndale, California · 17406 days ago · 18 km deep · 20 km away
  55. 2.517 km N of Willow Creek, California · 17406 days ago · 29 km deep · 88 km away
  56. 1.715 km NE of Burnt Ranch, California · 17406 days ago · 18 km deep · 92 km away
  57. 2.040 km SW of Ferndale, California · 17406 days ago · 27 km deep · 33 km away
  58. 3.516 km ENE of Westhaven-Moonstone, California · 17406 days ago · 22 km deep · 76 km away
  59. 1.717 km WSW of Scotia, California · 17406 days ago · 6 km deep · 9 km away
  60. 1.630 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 17406 days ago · 16 km deep · 27 km away

The first 60 of 135.

Before

  1. 1.510 km S of Ferndale, California · 17437 days ago · 20 km deep · 1 km away
  2. 1.716 km WNW of Fields Landing, California · 17437 days ago · 20 km deep · 34 km away
  3. 2.735 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 17437 days ago · 12 km deep · 26 km away
  4. 1.624 km SW of Ferndale, California · 17437 days ago · 27 km deep · 17 km away
  5. 1.835 km SW of Ferndale, California · 17440 days ago · 14 km deep · 30 km away
  6. 2.027 km SW of Ferndale, California · 17440 days ago · 19 km deep · 22 km away
  7. 1.736 km SW of Ferndale, California · 17441 days ago · 26 km deep · 29 km away
  8. 1.842 km SW of Ferndale, California · 17441 days ago · 27 km deep · 35 km away
  9. 1.617 km NW of Junction City, California · 17441 days ago · 17 km deep · 97 km away
  10. 3.166 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 17441 days ago · 26 km deep · 63 km away
  11. 2.722 km WSW of Weott, California · 17441 days ago · 9 km deep · 31 km away
  12. 1.520 km W of Indianola, California · 17442 days ago · 23 km deep · 28 km away
  13. 1.99 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 17442 days ago · 19 km deep · 1 km away
  14. 1.536 km SW of Ferndale, California · 17442 days ago · 17 km deep · 29 km away
  15. 1.730 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 17443 days ago · 19 km deep · 26 km away
  16. 1.54 km ESE of McKinleyville, California · 17443 days ago · 22 km deep · 52 km away
  17. 1.828 km SW of Ferndale, California · 17443 days ago · 19 km deep · 23 km away
  18. 2.03 km N of Redway, California · 17443 days ago · 17 km deep · 53 km away
  19. 1.6Northern California · 17443 days ago · 18 km deep · 53 km away
  20. 2.89 km S of Ferndale, California · 17444 days ago · 19 km deep · 1 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1043906. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:59 PM UTC.