California earthquakes

M3.2 earthquake 12km W of Moss Landing, CA

A magnitude 3.2 earthquake struck 12km W of Moss Landing, CA on Wed, Sep 22, 2021, 2:57 AM PDT (09:57 UTC), 9 km (5 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.7 13km S of Tres Pinos, CA. 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
3.2 (ML, local (Richter)), minor
Magnitude from
Northern California Seismic System
Local time
UTC
2021-09-22 09:57:45 UTC
Depth
8.7 km (5.4 mi), shallow
Epicenter
36.786° N, 121.919° W
Felt reports
500
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
3.17ML, local (Richter)Northern California Seismic SystemPreferred · Final · ±0.178 · 70 stations
2.8ML, local (Richter)USGS National Earthquake Information CenterReviewed · ±0.038 · 89 stations

Did you feel it?

500 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was IV, light shaking.

Did You Feel It? map: shaking reported by the public
Shaking reported by the public, by area. Map: USGS Did You Feel It?

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty
About 0.3 km horizontally, 0.9 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.18
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
142°
Stations used
119

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 113 in the 60 days after this one and 47 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 113.

Before

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc73627921 (also filed as us7000fddr). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 6:15 PM UTC.