California earthquakes

M3.3 earthquake 21 km NE of Soledad, California

A magnitude 3.3 earthquake struck 21 km NE of Soledad, California on Sun, Oct 27, 1985, 8:25 PM PST (04:25 UTC), 7 km (4 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.5 2 km ENE of San Ardo, California. This one was a foreshock.

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Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
3.3 (ml), minor
Local time
UTC
1985-10-28 04:25:52 UTC
Depth
6.6 km (4.1 mi), shallow
Epicenter
36.556° N, 121.150° 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 0.1 km horizontally, 0.3 km in depth
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
38°
Stations used
79

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 192 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 192.

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc57807 (also filed as ci130348, usp0002m6x). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 4:10 PM UTC.