California earthquakes

M1.5 earthquake 1 km S of Volcano, California

A magnitude 1.5 earthquake struck 1 km S of Volcano, California on Wed, Nov 18, 1987, 4:28 PM PST (00:28 UTC), 4 km (3 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.1 1 km SSE of Mesa Vista, California. This one was a foreshock.

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Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude
1.5 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1987-11-19 00:28:35 UTC
Depth
4.3 km (2.7 mi), shallow
Epicenter
38.428° N, 120.628° 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 0.6 km horizontally, 3.0 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.06
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
144°
Stations used
9

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 13 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 2.11 km SSE of Mesa Vista, California · 14186 days ago · 2 km deep · 83 km away
  2. 2.119 km NNE of Buckhorn, California · 14175 days ago · 23 km deep · 27 km away
  3. 2.98 km SW of Markleeville, California · 14174 days ago · 1 km deep · 72 km away
  4. 2.27 km NNE of Markleeville, California · 14160 days ago · 8 km deep · 85 km away
  5. 3.16 km ESE of Alpine Village, California · 14160 days ago · 6 km deep · 85 km away
  6. 2.711 km SE of Greeley Hill, California · 14156 days ago · 0 km deep · 98 km away
  7. 3.410 km WSW of Topaz, California · 14144 days ago · 7 km deep · 89 km away
  8. 1.89 km WSW of Topaz, California · 14144 days ago · 6 km deep · 89 km away
  9. 3.010 km WSW of Topaz, California · 14143 days ago · 7 km deep · 89 km away
  10. 1.62 km N of Mesa Vista, California · 14138 days ago · -1 km deep · 85 km away
  11. 2.26 km W of Topaz Lake, Nevada · 14137 days ago · 2 km deep · 93 km away
  12. 1.66 km WNW of Topaz Lake, Nevada · 14134 days ago · -2 km deep · 94 km away
  13. 2.610 km WSW of Topaz, California · 14130 days ago · 7 km deep · 89 km away

Before

  1. 2.80 km N of Mesa Vista, California · 14216 days ago · 0 km deep · 84 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc10085601. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 11:30 PM UTC.