California earthquakes

M3.0 earthquake 6 km SSE of Parkfield, California

A magnitude 3.0 earthquake struck 6 km SSE of Parkfield, California on Sun, Dec 19, 1982, 1:38 AM PST (09:38 UTC), 6 km (4 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.1 1 km SSE of Parkfield, California. This one was a foreshock.

Shandon 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
3.0 (md), minor
Local time
UTC
1982-12-19 09:38:49 UTC
Depth
6.3 km (3.9 mi), shallow
Epicenter
35.846° N, 120.396° 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, 0.3 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.13
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
55°
Stations used
36

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 86 in the 60 days after this one and 38 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 86.

Before

Earthquakes todayCalifornia earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1083239 (also filed as ci500319, usp0001rhy). Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 9:53 PM UTC.