California earthquakes

M3.0 earthquake 5 km SW of Cobb, California

A magnitude 3.0 earthquake struck 5 km SW of Cobb, California on Sat, May 19, 1984, 12:08 AM PDT (07:08 UTC), 0 km (0 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.2 6 km W of Cobb, California. This one was a foreshock.

Cobb 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 (Md, duration), minor
Magnitude from
Northern California Seismic System
Local time
UTC
1984-05-19 07:08:21 UTC
Depth
0.5 km (0.3 mi), shallow
Epicenter
38.783° N, 122.763° 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
3.01Md, durationNorthern California Seismic SystemPreferred · Final · ±0.11 · 53 stations
3.0ML, local (Richter)USGS National Earthquake Information CenterReviewed

What happened

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

Felt.

From the USGS event page for nc18863. 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 0.1 km horizontally, 0.3 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.11
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
58°
Stations used
40

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 170 in the 60 days after this one and 87 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 170.

Before

Earthquakes todayCalifornia earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc18863 (also filed as usp00024gb). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 4:37 PM UTC.