California earthquakes

M4.4 earthquake 2 km N of Pacifica, California

A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 2 km N of Pacifica, California on Fri, Apr 27, 1979, 4:44 PM PST (00:44 UTC), 15 km (9 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.8 15 km E of Seven Trees, California. This one was a foreshock.

Pacifica forecast More 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: 4.4 (ml), light
Local time: Fri, Apr 27, 1979, 4:44 PM PST
UTC: 1979-04-28 00:44:44 UTC
Depth: 15.1 km (9.4 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 37.636° N, 122.487° W
Region: California
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 0.3 km horizontally, 0.4 km in depth
Depth from: From location
Station coverage gap: 159°
Stations used: 66

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 64 in the 60 days after this one and 21 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 64.

Before

Earthquakes today California earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1045582 (also filed as ci3348692, usp00010au). Read Sun, Sep 27, 2026, 7:59 PM UTC.