California earthquakes

M3.6 earthquake 6 km W of Cobb, California

A magnitude 3.6 earthquake struck 6 km W of Cobb, California on Tue, Apr 3, 1990, 2:12 PM PDT (21:12 UTC), 1 km (1 mi) below the surface.

Cobb 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
3.6 (ML, local (Richter)), minor
Magnitude from
Northern California Seismic System
Local time
UTC
1990-04-03 21:12:13 UTC
Depth
1.0 km (0.6 mi), shallow
Epicenter
38.828° N, 122.795° W
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.ScaleComputed byNotes
3.6ML, local (Richter)Northern California Seismic SystemPreferred · Final · 0 stations
4.1ML, local (Richter)USGS National Earthquake Information CenterReviewed

What happened

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

Felt (IV) at Cobb and Loch Lomond. Also felt at Finley and The Geysers.

From the USGS event page for nc159000. 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
53°
Stations used
45

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 173 in the 60 days after this one and 98 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 173.

Before

Earthquakes todayCalifornia earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc159000 (also filed as usp00047e2). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 1:35 PM UTC.