California earthquakes

M1.9 earthquake 13 km NNE of Coalinga, California

A magnitude 1.9 earthquake struck 13 km NNE of Coalinga, California on Sat, Sep 14, 1985, 5:42 PM PDT (00:42 UTC), 6 km (4 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.0 8 km NNW of Avenal, California. This one was a foreshock.

Coalinga 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
1.9 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1985-09-15 00:42:21 UTC
Depth
6.0 km (3.7 mi), shallow
Epicenter
36.244° N, 120.283° 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 0.3 km horizontally, 0.4 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.08
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
125°
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: 181 in the 60 days after this one and 15 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 181.

Before

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc55139. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:45 PM UTC.