M3.6 earthquake 52 km SW of Ferndale, California

Magnitude

3.6 (ml), minor

Local time

Sat, Dec 21, 1985, 11:00 AM PST

UTC

1985-12-21 19:00:12 UTC

Depth

10.6 km (6.6 mi), shallow

Epicenter

40.256° N, 124.718° W

Region

California

Tsunami flag

No

Status

Reviewed by a seismologist

Location uncertainty

About 10.1 km horizontally, 5.2 km in depth

Depth from

From location

Station coverage gap

270°, poorly surrounded by stations

Stations used

16

• Ferndale, CaliforniaPopulation 1,369. Forecast52 kmSW
• Fortuna, CaliforniaPopulation 12,000. Forecast61 kmSW
• Chico, CaliforniaPopulation 121,345. Forecast252 kmWNW
• Los Angeles, CaliforniaPopulation 3,820,914. Forecast897 kmNW

After

1. 2.627 km SSW of Ferndale, CaliforniaSun, Dec 22, 6:00 AM PST · 14891 days ago · 17 km deep · 28 km away
2. 2.14 km ESE of Indianola, CaliforniaSun, Dec 22, 7:47 AM PST · 14891 days ago · 17 km deep · 65 km away
3. 1.739 km SSW of Ferndale, CaliforniaMon, Dec 23, 10:58 PM PST · 14889 days ago · 4 km deep · 21 km away
4. 2.17 km W of Rio Dell, CaliforniaTue, Dec 24, 12:44 AM PST · 14889 days ago · 21 km deep · 51 km away
5. 2.121 km SE of Blue Lake, CaliforniaWed, Dec 25, 8:58 AM PST · 14888 days ago · 27 km deep · 95 km away
6. 2.033 km WSW of Ferndale, CaliforniaThu, Dec 26, 5:58 AM PST · 14887 days ago · 15 km deep · 21 km away
7. 1.610 km SSW of Ferndale, CaliforniaThu, Dec 26, 8:12 AM PST · 14887 days ago · 7 km deep · 43 km away
8. 1.816 km WNW of Mad River, CaliforniaThu, Dec 26, 1:00 PM PST · 14887 days ago · 24 km deep · 90 km away
9. 3.958 km W of Shelter Cove, CaliforniaSat, Dec 28, 4:38 PM PST · 14884 days ago · 4 km deep · 14 km away
10. 2.610 km W of Indianola, CaliforniaWed, Jan 1, 2:34 AM PST · 14881 days ago · 0 km deep · 58 km away
11. 3.19 km NW of Ferndale, CaliforniaFri, Jan 3, 4:33 AM PST · 14879 days ago · 8 km deep · 52 km away
12. 2.614 km WSW of Scotia, CaliforniaSat, Jan 4, 8:00 PM PST · 14877 days ago · 25 km deep · 44 km away
13. 2.629 km SW of Scotia, CaliforniaSat, Jan 4, 9:56 PM PST · 14877 days ago · 8 km deep · 30 km away
14. 2.228 km SW of Scotia, CaliforniaSat, Jan 4, 9:57 PM PST · 14877 days ago · 6 km deep · 31 km away
15. 1.629 km SW of Scotia, CaliforniaSun, Jan 5, 4:19 AM PST · 14877 days ago · 9 km deep · 31 km away
16. 1.815 km NE of Miranda, CaliforniaWed, Jan 8, 4:54 PM PST · 14873 days ago · 19 km deep · 85 km away
17. 2.831 km SW of Scotia, CaliforniaThu, Jan 9, 3:46 AM PST · 14873 days ago · 16 km deep · 28 km away
18. 2.15 km SSE of Ferndale, CaliforniaFri, Jan 10, 7:04 AM PST · 14872 days ago · 7 km deep · 50 km away
19. 2.645 km WNW of Samoa, CaliforniaFri, Jan 10, 7:20 AM PST · 14872 days ago · 4 km deep · 77 km away
20. 3.212 km WSW of Redcrest, CaliforniaFri, Jan 10, 11:53 AM PST · 14872 days ago · 1 km deep · 55 km away
21. 1.79 km WSW of Ferndale, CaliforniaSat, Jan 11, 12:44 PM PST · 14871 days ago · 17 km deep · 43 km away
22. 2.07 km W of Rio Dell, CaliforniaSun, Jan 12, 3:28 AM PST · 14870 days ago · 20 km deep · 51 km away
23. 2.114 km WSW of Weott, CaliforniaSun, Jan 12, 9:20 PM PST · 14869 days ago · 8 km deep · 54 km away
24. 1.910 km NE of Redcrest, CaliforniaMon, Jan 13, 10:32 PM PST · 14868 days ago · 7 km deep · 77 km away
25. 2.74 km WNW of Redway, CaliforniaThu, Jan 16, 3:51 AM PST · 14866 days ago · 21 km deep · 73 km away
26. 3.035 km WSW of Ferndale, CaliforniaThu, Jan 16, 11:05 AM PST · 14866 days ago · 23 km deep · 19 km away
27. 2.217 km WSW of Leggett, CaliforniaThu, Jan 16, 4:12 PM PST · 14865 days ago · 2 km deep · 85 km away
28. 1.916 km NE of Miranda, CaliforniaSun, Jan 19, 1:34 PM PST · 14862 days ago · 4 km deep · 88 km away
29. 2.733 km SSW of Ferndale, CaliforniaTue, Jan 21, 2:56 AM PST · 14861 days ago · 11 km deep · 24 km away
30. 3.591 km W of Ferndale, CaliforniaTue, Jan 21, 3:57 AM PST · 14861 days ago · 2 km deep · 56 km away
31. 1.91 km SSW of Redway, CaliforniaSun, Jan 26, 3:56 PM PST · 14855 days ago · 18 km deep · 77 km away
32. 2.749 km WNW of Shelter Cove, CaliforniaThu, Jan 30, 2:40 AM PST · 14852 days ago · 4 km deep · 12 km away
33. 3.065 km WNW of Ferndale, CaliforniaThu, Jan 30, 11:14 PM PST · 14851 days ago · 0 km deep · 55 km away
34. 1.910 km E of Hydesville, CaliforniaFri, Jan 31, 11:11 PM PST · 14850 days ago · 4 km deep · 71 km away
35. 2.693 km W of Ferndale, CaliforniaSat, Feb 1, 9:02 AM PST · 14850 days ago · 13 km deep · 58 km away
36. 1.98 km NNW of Redcrest, CaliforniaSat, Feb 1, 10:39 AM PST · 14850 days ago · 25 km deep · 68 km away
37. 3.24 km ESE of Indianola, CaliforniaSun, Feb 2, 11:31 AM PST · 14849 days ago · 20 km deep · 84 km away
38. 3.537 km W of Ferndale, CaliforniaWed, Feb 5, 4:00 AM PST · 14846 days ago · 17 km deep · 38 km away
39. 1.87 km SSW of Scotia, CaliforniaWed, Feb 5, 5:38 AM PST · 14846 days ago · 5 km deep · 54 km away
40. 1.71 km S of Loleta, CaliforniaFri, Feb 7, 6:53 AM PST · 14844 days ago · 4 km deep · 59 km away
41. 2.439 km WSW of Ferndale, CaliforniaSat, Feb 8, 1:09 PM PST · 14842 days ago · 14 km deep · 24 km away
42. 4.046 km WNW of Ferndale, CaliforniaTue, Feb 18, 4:25 PM PST · 14832 days ago · 1 km deep · 50 km away

Before

1. 2.037 km W of Ferndale, CaliforniaFri, Dec 20, 1:32 PM PST · 14892 days ago · 4 km deep · 34 km away
2. 2.4108 km W of Ferndale, CaliforniaFri, Dec 20, 7:10 AM PST · 14893 days ago · 6 km deep · 71 km away
3. 2.422 km SW of Ferndale, CaliforniaThu, Dec 19, 1:08 AM PST · 14894 days ago · 14 km deep · 30 km away
4. 2.626 km SW of Ferndale, CaliforniaThu, Dec 19, 12:35 AM PST · 14894 days ago · 16 km deep · 26 km away
5. 1.631 km SSW of Ferndale, CaliforniaTue, Dec 17, 9:38 PM PST · 14895 days ago · 5 km deep · 27 km away
6. 1.97 km W of Loleta, CaliforniaTue, Dec 17, 7:51 AM PST · 14896 days ago · 4 km deep · 55 km away
7. 1.64 km WSW of Ferndale, CaliforniaTue, Dec 17, 7:26 AM PST · 14896 days ago · 4 km deep · 48 km away
8. 1.84 km WSW of Ferndale, CaliforniaTue, Dec 17, 3:16 AM PST · 14896 days ago · 4 km deep · 49 km away
9. 1.85 km WNW of Ferndale, CaliforniaTue, Dec 17, 2:56 AM PST · 14896 days ago · 4 km deep · 50 km away
10. 2.09 km W of Bayview, CaliforniaMon, Dec 16, 12:48 PM PST · 14897 days ago · 20 km deep · 69 km away
11. 1.63 km NE of Fortuna, CaliforniaMon, Dec 16, 12:33 PM PST · 14897 days ago · 19 km deep · 64 km away
12. 2.110 km W of Indianola, CaliforniaMon, Dec 16, 6:42 AM PST · 14897 days ago · 5 km deep · 57 km away
13. 3.337 km WSW of Ferndale, CaliforniaSun, Dec 15, 10:06 PM PST · 14897 days ago · 22 km deep · 17 km away
14. 1.723 km SW of Scotia, CaliforniaSun, Dec 15, 4:47 AM PST · 14898 days ago · 15 km deep · 36 km away
15. 3.023 km SW of Scotia, CaliforniaSun, Dec 15, 4:43 AM PST · 14898 days ago · 16 km deep · 35 km away
16. 1.79 km SW of Ferndale, CaliforniaSat, Dec 14, 9:24 PM PST · 14898 days ago · 9 km deep · 43 km away
17. 1.721 km NW of Mad River, CaliforniaFri, Dec 13, 5:46 AM PST · 14900 days ago · 24 km deep · 93 km away
18. 2.332 km SW of Ferndale, CaliforniaWed, Dec 11, 4:00 PM PST · 14901 days ago · 15 km deep · 20 km away
19. 2.232 km SW of Ferndale, CaliforniaWed, Dec 11, 10:27 AM PST · 14902 days ago · 15 km deep · 20 km away
20. 2.16 km SSW of Ferndale, CaliforniaMon, Dec 9, 2:47 PM PST · 14903 days ago · 9 km deep · 46 km away

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc63439. Read Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 8:36 AM UTC.