California earthquakes

M1.6 earthquake 6 km NE of Ridgemark, California

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake struck 6 km NE of Ridgemark, California on Tue, Jan 23, 1979, 6:05 PM PST (02:05 UTC), 2 km (1 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.6 20 km NE of Morgan Hill, California. This one was a foreshock.

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Map

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
1979-01-24 02:05:03 UTC
Depth
2.0 km (1.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter
36.860° N, 121.316° 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 0.2 km horizontally, 0.8 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.22
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
95°
Stations used
31

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 138 in the 60 days after this one and 49 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 138.

Before

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1044321. Read Thu, Sep 24, 2026, 3:49 AM UTC.