A major earthquake has struck about 80 miles off the coast of northern California, briefly prompting a tsunami warning along the Pacific coast.

The 7.0-magnitude quake struck south west of the coastal community of Crescent City and 300 miles north west of San Francisco, according to the US Geological Survey website.

Witnesses felt buildings shaking along the California coast but there were no immediate reports of damage.

A tsunami warning was briefly in effect from the California-Mexico border north to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, but was called off about an hour after the quake hit.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration runs the warning system, which includes 25 other countries with Pacific coastlines.

Crescent City was the site of the only known tsunami to cause deaths in the continental US.

Eleven people died and 29 city blocks were washed away when a tsunami spawned by a quake hit Crescent City in 1964.