California earthquakes

M3.1 earthquake 9 km NW of Ferndale, California

A magnitude 3.1 earthquake struck 9 km NW of Ferndale, California on Fri, Jan 3, 1986, 4:33 AM PST (12:33 UTC), 8 km (5 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.2 12 km WSW of Redcrest, 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
3.1 (ml), minor
Local time
UTC
1986-01-03 12:33:05 UTC
Depth
8.4 km (5.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter
40.626° N, 124.350° 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 3.4 km horizontally, 4.4 km in depth
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
253°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
8

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 43 in the 60 days after this one and 37 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 2.614 km WSW of Scotia, California · 14871 days ago · 25 km deep · 25 km away
  2. 2.629 km SW of Scotia, California · 14871 days ago · 8 km deep · 34 km away
  3. 2.228 km SW of Scotia, California · 14871 days ago · 6 km deep · 33 km away
  4. 1.629 km SW of Scotia, California · 14870 days ago · 9 km deep · 35 km away
  5. 2.015 km SE of Orick, California · 14867 days ago · -1 km deep · 74 km away
  6. 1.815 km NE of Miranda, California · 14867 days ago · 19 km deep · 61 km away
  7. 2.918 km WNW of Junction City, California · 14867 days ago · 28 km deep · 94 km away
  8. 2.831 km SW of Scotia, California · 14866 days ago · 16 km deep · 36 km away
  9. 2.15 km SSE of Ferndale, California · 14865 days ago · 7 km deep · 14 km away
  10. 2.645 km WNW of Samoa, California · 14865 days ago · 4 km deep · 46 km away
  11. 3.212 km WSW of Redcrest, California · 14865 days ago · 1 km deep · 36 km away
  12. 1.79 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 14864 days ago · 17 km deep · 11 km away
  13. 2.07 km W of Rio Dell, California · 14863 days ago · 20 km deep · 20 km away
  14. 2.114 km WSW of Weott, California · 14863 days ago · 8 km deep · 46 km away
  15. 1.910 km NE of Redcrest, California · 14862 days ago · 7 km deep · 46 km away
  16. 2.74 km WNW of Redway, California · 14859 days ago · 21 km deep · 68 km away
  17. 3.035 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 14859 days ago · 23 km deep · 33 km away
  18. 2.217 km WSW of Leggett, California · 14859 days ago · 2 km deep · 98 km away
  19. 2.013 km NE of Willow Creek, California · 14858 days ago · -1 km deep · 83 km away
  20. 1.916 km NE of Miranda, California · 14856 days ago · 4 km deep · 64 km away
  21. 2.733 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 14854 days ago · 11 km deep · 36 km away
  22. 3.591 km W of Ferndale, California · 14854 days ago · 2 km deep · 85 km away
  23. 1.91 km SSW of Redway, California · 14849 days ago · 18 km deep · 72 km away
  24. 2.749 km WNW of Shelter Cove, California · 14845 days ago · 4 km deep · 53 km away
  25. 3.065 km WNW of Ferndale, California · 14845 days ago · 0 km deep · 57 km away
  26. 1.910 km E of Hydesville, California · 14844 days ago · 4 km deep · 33 km away
  27. 2.693 km W of Ferndale, California · 14843 days ago · 13 km deep · 87 km away
  28. 1.98 km NNW of Redcrest, California · 14843 days ago · 25 km deep · 36 km away
  29. 3.24 km ESE of Indianola, California · 14842 days ago · 20 km deep · 33 km away
  30. 3.537 km W of Ferndale, California · 14839 days ago · 17 km deep · 30 km away
  31. 1.87 km SSW of Scotia, California · 14839 days ago · 5 km deep · 30 km away
  32. 1.71 km S of Loleta, California · 14837 days ago · 4 km deep · 11 km away
  33. 2.439 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 14836 days ago · 14 km deep · 35 km away
  34. 4.046 km WNW of Ferndale, California · 14826 days ago · 1 km deep · 38 km away
  35. 1.68 km E of Rio Dell, California · 14821 days ago · 19 km deep · 32 km away
  36. 2.328 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 14821 days ago · 20 km deep · 31 km away
  37. 1.911 km NE of Trinity Village, California · 14818 days ago · 12 km deep · 85 km away
  38. 3.534 km W of Ferndale, California · 14816 days ago · 12 km deep · 27 km away
  39. 2.98 km WSW of Rio Dell, California · 14815 days ago · 26 km deep · 21 km away
  40. 2.59 km WSW of Rio Dell, California · 14815 days ago · 26 km deep · 21 km away
  41. 1.618 km WSW of Weott, California · 14814 days ago · 3 km deep · 46 km away
  42. 2.450 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 14813 days ago · 5 km deep · 48 km away
  43. 3.850 km SW of Ferndale, California · 14813 days ago · 4 km deep · 51 km away

Before

  1. 2.610 km W of Indianola, California · 14874 days ago · 0 km deep · 9 km away
  2. 3.958 km W of Shelter Cove, California · 14878 days ago · 4 km deep · 64 km away
  3. 1.816 km WNW of Mad River, California · 14880 days ago · 24 km deep · 57 km away
  4. 1.610 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 14880 days ago · 7 km deep · 16 km away
  5. 2.033 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 14880 days ago · 15 km deep · 31 km away
  6. 2.121 km SE of Blue Lake, California · 14881 days ago · 27 km deep · 48 km away
  7. 2.17 km W of Rio Dell, California · 14883 days ago · 21 km deep · 20 km away
  8. 1.739 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 14883 days ago · 4 km deep · 43 km away
  9. 2.14 km ESE of Indianola, California · 14884 days ago · 17 km deep · 15 km away
  10. 2.627 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 14884 days ago · 17 km deep · 31 km away
  11. 2.212 km NNE of Willow Creek, California · 14885 days ago · 30 km deep · 80 km away
  12. 3.652 km SW of Ferndale, California · 14885 days ago · 11 km deep · 52 km away
  13. 2.037 km W of Ferndale, California · 14886 days ago · 4 km deep · 31 km away
  14. 2.422 km SW of Ferndale, California · 14888 days ago · 14 km deep · 24 km away
  15. 2.626 km SW of Ferndale, California · 14888 days ago · 16 km deep · 26 km away
  16. 1.631 km SSW of Ferndale, California · 14889 days ago · 5 km deep · 35 km away
  17. 1.97 km W of Loleta, California · 14889 days ago · 4 km deep · 4 km away
  18. 1.64 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 14889 days ago · 4 km deep · 8 km away
  19. 1.84 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 14889 days ago · 4 km deep · 8 km away
  20. 1.85 km WNW of Ferndale, California · 14889 days ago · 4 km deep · 4 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc64205 (also filed as usp0002pqm). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:43 PM UTC.