California earthquakes

M3.6 earthquake 85 km W of Ferndale, California

A magnitude 3.6 earthquake struck 85 km W of Ferndale, California on Tue, Jul 16, 1985, 2:56 PM PDT (21:56 UTC), 11 km (7 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.0 63 km WSW of Ferndale, California. This one was a foreshock.

Ferndale 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
3.6 (ML, local (Richter)), minor
Magnitude from
Northern California Seismic System
Local time
UTC
1985-07-16 21:56:39 UTC
Depth
10.9 km (6.8 mi), shallow
Epicenter
40.450° N, 125.263° 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
3.6ML, local (Richter)Northern California Seismic SystemPreferred · Final · 0 stations
3.4ML, local (Richter)USGS National Earthquake Information CenterReviewed

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 3.5 km horizontally, 16.6 km in depth
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
270°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
57

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 25 in the 60 days after this one and 21 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 3.09km N of Petrolia, CA · 15050 days ago · 24 km deep · 84 km away
  2. 1.715 km W of Weott, California · 15049 days ago · 11 km deep · 99 km away
  3. 2.220 km W of Weott, California · 15047 days ago · 5 km deep · 95 km away
  4. 4.389 km WNW of Samoa, California · 15045 days ago · 5 km deep · 61 km away
  5. 5.063 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 15041 days ago · 4 km deep · 31 km away
  6. 2.627 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 15039 days ago · 15 km deep · 72 km away
  7. 4.281 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 15038 days ago · 4 km deep · 8 km away
  8. 2.680 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 15038 days ago · 4 km deep · 12 km away
  9. 2.779 km W of Ferndale, California · 15029 days ago · 3 km deep · 6 km away
  10. 1.923 km SW of Scotia, California · 15022 days ago · 8 km deep · 80 km away
  11. 2.126 km SW of Scotia, California · 15019 days ago · 10 km deep · 78 km away
  12. 2.146 km W of Ferndale, California · 15016 days ago · 21 km deep · 39 km away
  13. 1.935 km SW of Ferndale, California · 15016 days ago · 12 km deep · 66 km away
  14. 2.336 km SW of Ferndale, California · 15013 days ago · 20 km deep · 66 km away
  15. 2.028 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 15011 days ago · 13 km deep · 72 km away
  16. 2.644 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 15010 days ago · 17 km deep · 48 km away
  17. 2.599 km W of Indianola, California · 15008 days ago · 5 km deep · 47 km away
  18. 1.925 km SSW of Scotia, California · 15006 days ago · 7 km deep · 90 km away
  19. 2.4near the coast of Northern California · 15005 days ago · 13 km deep · 75 km away
  20. 2.024 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 15004 days ago · 26 km deep · 64 km away
  21. 2.529 km SW of Ferndale, California · 15000 days ago · 16 km deep · 61 km away
  22. 2.938 km SW of Ferndale, California · 15000 days ago · 19 km deep · 61 km away
  23. 2.837 km SW of Ferndale, California · 14999 days ago · 21 km deep · 64 km away
  24. 2.654 km SW of Ferndale, California · 14995 days ago · 7 km deep · 48 km away
  25. 3.337 km SW of Ferndale, California · 14995 days ago · 2 km deep · 55 km away

Before

  1. 2.436 km SW of Ferndale, California · 15055 days ago · 9 km deep · 64 km away
  2. 3.329 km W of Shelter Cove, California · 15055 days ago · 5 km deep · 84 km away
  3. 2.123 km SSW of Scotia, California · 15057 days ago · 11 km deep · 87 km away
  4. 2.210 km W of Scotia, California · 15058 days ago · 21 km deep · 88 km away
  5. 2.810 km W of Scotia, California · 15058 days ago · 22 km deep · 88 km away
  6. 1.7near the coast of Northern California · 15059 days ago · 4 km deep · 71 km away
  7. 1.8near the coast of Northern California · 15059 days ago · 17 km deep · 69 km away
  8. 2.817 km WNW of Indianola, California · 15061 days ago · 6 km deep · 77 km away
  9. 2.128 km SW of Ferndale, California · 15063 days ago · 17 km deep · 67 km away
  10. 1.85 km SW of Ferndale, California · 15063 days ago · 13 km deep · 81 km away
  11. 1.65 km SSE of Ferndale, California · 15063 days ago · 18 km deep · 88 km away
  12. 2.43 km WNW of Fields Landing, California · 15064 days ago · 4 km deep · 91 km away
  13. 1.67 km W of Loleta, California · 15064 days ago · 4 km deep · 83 km away
  14. 2.031 km SW of Ferndale, California · 15064 days ago · 19 km deep · 64 km away
  15. 2.139 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 15065 days ago · 19 km deep · 50 km away
  16. 3.42 km NNW of Fields Landing, California · 15065 days ago · 7 km deep · 94 km away
  17. 2.585 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 15068 days ago · 5 km deep · 17 km away
  18. 2.114 km WNW of Ferndale, California · 15070 days ago · 15 km deep · 74 km away
  19. 2.510 km NW of Fields Landing, California · 15072 days ago · 26 km deep · 88 km away
  20. 3.328 km SW of Scotia, California · 15075 days ago · 10 km deep · 79 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc51274 (also filed as usp0002guq). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 10:47 AM UTC.