California earthquakes

M4.4 earthquake Central California

A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck in Central California on Fri, Dec 1, 1989, 4:37 AM PST (12:37 UTC), 6 km (4 mi) below the surface.

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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: 4.4 (ML, local (Richter)), light
Magnitude from: Northern California Seismic System
Local time: Fri, Dec 1, 1989, 4:37 AM PST
UTC: 1989-12-01 12:37:43 UTC
Depth: 6.1 km (3.8 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 36.691° N, 121.322° W
Region: California
Tsunami flag: No
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

Magnitude estimates

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.	Scale	Computed by	Notes
4.4	ML, local (Richter)	Northern California Seismic System	Preferred · Final · 8 stations
4.4	ML, local (Richter)	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Reviewed
4.07	ML, local (Richter)	Southern California Seismic Network	Final · 11 stations

What happened

The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.

Felt (IV) at Monterey. Felt in Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz Counties.

From the USGS event page for nc10090270. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.

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: 28°
Stations used: 87

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 188 in the 60 days after this one and 194 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 188.

Before

Earthquakes today California earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc10090270 (also filed as usp00042mf, ci1047247). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 11:31 PM UTC.