California earthquakes

M3.1 earthquake Central California

A magnitude 3.1 earthquake struck in Central California on Sat, Jul 12, 1986, 11:47 AM PDT (18:47 UTC), 16 km (10 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.4 22 km NNE of Soledad, 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: 3.1 (md), minor
Local time: Sat, Jul 12, 1986, 11:47 AM PDT
UTC: 1986-07-12 18:47:11 UTC
Depth: 16.4 km (10.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 36.099° N, 121.827° W
Region: California
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 0.7 km horizontally, 0.2 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.08
Depth from: From location
Station coverage gap: 220°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used: 55

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 158 in the 60 days after this one and 91 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 158.

Before

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc76314 (also filed as ci702076, usp0002vyz). Read Mon, Sep 28, 2026, 2:27 PM UTC.