M2.0 earthquake 37 km W of Ferndale, California

Magnitude

2.0 (md), micro

Local time

Fri, Dec 20, 1985, 1:32 PM PST

UTC

1985-12-20 21:32:14 UTC

Depth

4.1 km (2.5 mi), shallow

Epicenter

40.561° N, 124.709° W

Region

California

Tsunami flag

No

Status

Reviewed by a seismologist

Location uncertainty

About 7.5 km horizontally, 3.1 km in depth

Magnitude uncertainty

±0.38

Depth from

From location

Station coverage gap

285°, poorly surrounded by stations

Stations used

5

• Ferndale, CaliforniaPopulation 1,369. Forecast38 kmW
• Fortuna, CaliforniaPopulation 12,000. Forecast47 kmW
• Chico, CaliforniaPopulation 121,345. Forecast261 kmWNW

After

1. 3.652 km SW of Ferndale, CaliforniaSat, Dec 21, 11:00 AM PST · 14892 days ago · 11 km deep · 34 km away
2. 2.627 km SSW of Ferndale, CaliforniaSun, Dec 22, 6:00 AM PST · 14892 days ago · 17 km deep · 34 km away
3. 2.14 km ESE of Indianola, CaliforniaSun, Dec 22, 7:47 AM PST · 14891 days ago · 17 km deep · 47 km away
4. 1.739 km SSW of Ferndale, CaliforniaMon, Dec 23, 10:58 PM PST · 14890 days ago · 4 km deep · 39 km away
5. 2.17 km W of Rio Dell, CaliforniaTue, Dec 24, 12:44 AM PST · 14890 days ago · 21 km deep · 44 km away
6. 2.121 km SE of Blue Lake, CaliforniaWed, Dec 25, 8:58 AM PST · 14888 days ago · 27 km deep · 79 km away
7. 2.033 km WSW of Ferndale, CaliforniaThu, Dec 26, 5:58 AM PST · 14888 days ago · 15 km deep · 19 km away
8. 1.610 km SSW of Ferndale, CaliforniaThu, Dec 26, 8:12 AM PST · 14887 days ago · 7 km deep · 34 km away
9. 1.816 km WNW of Mad River, CaliforniaThu, Dec 26, 1:00 PM PST · 14887 days ago · 24 km deep · 86 km away
10. 3.958 km W of Shelter Cove, CaliforniaSat, Dec 28, 4:38 PM PST · 14885 days ago · 4 km deep · 48 km away
11. 2.610 km W of Indianola, CaliforniaWed, Jan 1, 2:34 AM PST · 14882 days ago · 0 km deep · 34 km away
12. 3.19 km NW of Ferndale, CaliforniaFri, Jan 3, 4:33 AM PST · 14880 days ago · 8 km deep · 31 km away
13. 2.614 km WSW of Scotia, CaliforniaSat, Jan 4, 8:00 PM PST · 14878 days ago · 25 km deep · 43 km away
14. 2.629 km SW of Scotia, CaliforniaSat, Jan 4, 9:56 PM PST · 14878 days ago · 8 km deep · 39 km away
15. 2.228 km SW of Scotia, CaliforniaSat, Jan 4, 9:57 PM PST · 14878 days ago · 6 km deep · 39 km away
16. 1.629 km SW of Scotia, CaliforniaSun, Jan 5, 4:19 AM PST · 14878 days ago · 9 km deep · 41 km away
17. 2.015 km SE of Orick, CaliforniaWed, Jan 8, 9:43 AM PST · 14874 days ago · -1 km deep · 98 km away
18. 1.815 km NE of Miranda, CaliforniaWed, Jan 8, 4:54 PM PST · 14874 days ago · 19 km deep · 87 km away
19. 2.831 km SW of Scotia, CaliforniaThu, Jan 9, 3:46 AM PST · 14874 days ago · 16 km deep · 39 km away
20. 2.15 km SSE of Ferndale, CaliforniaFri, Jan 10, 7:04 AM PST · 14873 days ago · 7 km deep · 39 km away
21. 2.645 km WNW of Samoa, CaliforniaFri, Jan 10, 7:20 AM PST · 14872 days ago · 4 km deep · 43 km away
22. 3.212 km WSW of Redcrest, CaliforniaFri, Jan 10, 11:53 AM PST · 14872 days ago · 1 km deep · 57 km away
23. 1.79 km WSW of Ferndale, CaliforniaSat, Jan 11, 12:44 PM PST · 14871 days ago · 17 km deep · 29 km away
24. 2.07 km W of Rio Dell, CaliforniaSun, Jan 12, 3:28 AM PST · 14871 days ago · 20 km deep · 44 km away
25. 2.114 km WSW of Weott, CaliforniaSun, Jan 12, 9:20 PM PST · 14870 days ago · 8 km deep · 62 km away
26. 1.910 km NE of Redcrest, CaliforniaMon, Jan 13, 10:32 PM PST · 14869 days ago · 7 km deep · 74 km away
27. 2.74 km WNW of Redway, CaliforniaThu, Jan 16, 3:51 AM PST · 14867 days ago · 21 km deep · 85 km away
28. 3.035 km WSW of Ferndale, CaliforniaThu, Jan 16, 11:05 AM PST · 14866 days ago · 23 km deep · 18 km away
29. 1.916 km NE of Miranda, CaliforniaSun, Jan 19, 1:34 PM PST · 14863 days ago · 4 km deep · 90 km away
30. 2.733 km SSW of Ferndale, CaliforniaTue, Jan 21, 2:56 AM PST · 14862 days ago · 11 km deep · 36 km away
31. 3.591 km W of Ferndale, CaliforniaTue, Jan 21, 3:57 AM PST · 14862 days ago · 2 km deep · 54 km away
32. 1.91 km SSW of Redway, CaliforniaSun, Jan 26, 3:56 PM PST · 14856 days ago · 18 km deep · 90 km away
33. 2.749 km WNW of Shelter Cove, CaliforniaThu, Jan 30, 2:40 AM PST · 14853 days ago · 4 km deep · 42 km away
34. 3.065 km WNW of Ferndale, CaliforniaThu, Jan 30, 11:14 PM PST · 14852 days ago · 0 km deep · 30 km away
35. 1.910 km E of Hydesville, CaliforniaFri, Jan 31, 11:11 PM PST · 14851 days ago · 4 km deep · 62 km away
36. 2.693 km W of Ferndale, CaliforniaSat, Feb 1, 9:02 AM PST · 14850 days ago · 13 km deep · 56 km away
37. 1.98 km NNW of Redcrest, CaliforniaSat, Feb 1, 10:39 AM PST · 14850 days ago · 25 km deep · 63 km away
38. 3.24 km ESE of Indianola, CaliforniaSun, Feb 2, 11:31 AM PST · 14849 days ago · 20 km deep · 63 km away
39. 3.537 km W of Ferndale, CaliforniaWed, Feb 5, 4:00 AM PST · 14847 days ago · 17 km deep · 4 km away
40. 1.87 km SSW of Scotia, CaliforniaWed, Feb 5, 5:38 AM PST · 14847 days ago · 5 km deep · 52 km away
41. 1.71 km S of Loleta, CaliforniaFri, Feb 7, 6:53 AM PST · 14845 days ago · 4 km deep · 42 km away
42. 2.439 km WSW of Ferndale, CaliforniaSat, Feb 8, 1:09 PM PST · 14843 days ago · 14 km deep · 10 km away

Before

1. 2.4108 km W of Ferndale, CaliforniaFri, Dec 20, 7:10 AM PST · 14894 days ago · 6 km deep · 71 km away
2. 2.422 km SW of Ferndale, CaliforniaThu, Dec 19, 1:08 AM PST · 14895 days ago · 14 km deep · 28 km away
3. 2.626 km SW of Ferndale, CaliforniaThu, Dec 19, 12:35 AM PST · 14895 days ago · 16 km deep · 22 km away
4. 1.631 km SSW of Ferndale, CaliforniaTue, Dec 17, 9:38 PM PST · 14896 days ago · 5 km deep · 38 km away
5. 1.97 km W of Loleta, CaliforniaTue, Dec 17, 7:51 AM PST · 14896 days ago · 4 km deep · 34 km away
6. 1.64 km WSW of Ferndale, CaliforniaTue, Dec 17, 7:26 AM PST · 14896 days ago · 4 km deep · 34 km away
7. 1.84 km WSW of Ferndale, CaliforniaTue, Dec 17, 3:16 AM PST · 14897 days ago · 4 km deep · 34 km away
8. 1.85 km WNW of Ferndale, CaliforniaTue, Dec 17, 2:56 AM PST · 14897 days ago · 4 km deep · 32 km away
9. 2.09 km W of Bayview, CaliforniaMon, Dec 16, 12:48 PM PST · 14897 days ago · 20 km deep · 43 km away
10. 1.63 km NE of Fortuna, CaliforniaMon, Dec 16, 12:33 PM PST · 14897 days ago · 19 km deep · 50 km away
11. 2.110 km W of Indianola, CaliforniaMon, Dec 16, 6:42 AM PST · 14898 days ago · 5 km deep · 33 km away
12. 3.337 km WSW of Ferndale, CaliforniaSun, Dec 15, 10:06 PM PST · 14898 days ago · 22 km deep · 18 km away
13. 1.723 km SW of Scotia, CaliforniaSun, Dec 15, 4:47 AM PST · 14899 days ago · 15 km deep · 41 km away
14. 3.023 km SW of Scotia, CaliforniaSun, Dec 15, 4:43 AM PST · 14899 days ago · 16 km deep · 40 km away
15. 1.79 km SW of Ferndale, CaliforniaSat, Dec 14, 9:24 PM PST · 14899 days ago · 9 km deep · 31 km away
16. 1.721 km NW of Mad River, CaliforniaFri, Dec 13, 5:46 AM PST · 14901 days ago · 24 km deep · 85 km away
17. 2.332 km SW of Ferndale, CaliforniaWed, Dec 11, 4:00 PM PST · 14902 days ago · 15 km deep · 22 km away
18. 2.232 km SW of Ferndale, CaliforniaWed, Dec 11, 10:27 AM PST · 14902 days ago · 15 km deep · 21 km away
19. 2.16 km SSW of Ferndale, CaliforniaMon, Dec 9, 2:47 PM PST · 14904 days ago · 9 km deep · 35 km away
20. 2.46 km W of Loleta, CaliforniaSun, Dec 8, 1:48 PM PST · 14905 days ago · -1 km deep · 36 km away

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc63015. Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 2:43 AM UTC.