California earthquakes

M3.0 earthquake 10 km ESE of Pine Hills, California

A magnitude 3.0 earthquake struck 10 km ESE of Pine Hills, California on Thu, Sep 16, 1982, 3:26 AM PDT (10:26 UTC), 20 km (12 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.3 15 km WSW of Ferndale, California. This one was a foreshock.

Pine Hills 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
3.0 (ML, local (Richter)), minor
Magnitude from
Northern California Seismic System
Local time
UTC
1982-09-16 10:26:05 UTC
Depth
19.9 km (12.4 mi), shallow
Epicenter
40.698° N, 124.036° W
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

Magnitude estimates

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.ScaleComputed byNotes
3.0ML, local (Richter)Northern California Seismic SystemPreferred · Final · 0 stations
3.2ML, local (Richter)USGS National Earthquake Information CenterReviewed

What happened

The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.

Felt (III) at Rio Dell.

From the USGS event page for nc1078998. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.

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, 0.6 km in depth
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
55°
Stations used
16

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 95 in the 60 days after this one and 72 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 95.

Before

Earthquakes todayCalifornia earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1078998 (also filed as usp0001pn5). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 5:50 PM UTC.