Massive magnitude 7 earthquake strikes off California coast

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A map revealing the area and strength of the earthquake.
(Image credit: Leaflet, Google Maps, Esri, HERE, Garmin, Intermap, increment P Corp., GEBCO, USGS, FAO, NPS, NRCAN, GeoBase, IGN, Kadaster NL, Ordnance Survey, Esri Japan, METI, Esri China(Hong Kong), swisstopo, © OpenStreetMap factors, and the GIS User Community)

A magnitude 7 earthquake struck off the coast of northern California on Thursday (Dec. 5).

A tsunami caution that had actually at first been triggered by the earthquake has actually now been canceled, according to the U.S. Tsunami Warning System.

The earthquake struck at 10:44 a.m. PST(18:44 UTC)at a depth of about 0.4 mile( 0.6 kilometers ), according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS ). The earthquake happened off the coast, about 39 miles(63 km)northwest of the city of Petrolia in Humboldt County. It’s most likely that these numbers will be upgraded as theUSGS collects more details.

Related: The 20 biggest taped earthquakes in history

A map revealing the area of the preliminary tsunami alerting along the coast. The caution has actually now been canceled. (Image credit: Esri, HERE, Garmin, FAO, NOAA, USGS, EPA)

Presently, the USGS is reporting that the “landslides triggered by this earthquake are estimated to be limited in number.” According to the USGS Shake Mapindividuals reported feeling severe shaking on the California coast by the earthquake.

Other little earthquakes, consisting of a magnitude 4.2 and a magnitude 3.3have actually likewise struck the location today. There are no instant reports of damage, according to the Los Angeles Times

Editor’s note: This story was upgraded at 3:38 p.m. EST to keep in mind that the tsunami caution has actually been canceled.

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Laura is the archaeology and Life’s Little Mysteries editor at Live Science. She likewise reports on basic science, consisting of paleontology. Her work has actually appeared in The New York Times, Scholastic, Popular Science and Spectrum, a website on autism research study. She has actually won numerous awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association for her reporting at a weekly paper near Seattle. Laura holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature and psychology from Washington University in St. Louis and a master’s degree in science composing from NYU.