QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

10km N of Simmler, CA

· 9.8 km deep · released about 20 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Luis Obispo County 41 kmKings County 72 kmSanta Barbara County 101 kmKern County 116 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
Magnitude
M 1.9 (ml)
Depth
9.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Luis Obispo County, 41 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2782 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 20 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 760,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 540,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 48× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 20 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

Where

Epicentre 35.4418, -120.0043. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection
San Luis Obispo County, CA 41 km (25 mi) E of here earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Kings County, CA 72 km (45 mi) SSW of here earthquakes near Kings County
Santa Barbara County, CA 101 km (63 mi) N of here earthquakes near Santa Barbara County
Kern County, CA 116 km (72 mi) W of here earthquakes near Kern County
Tulare County, CA 141 km (87 mi) SW of here earthquakes near Tulare County
Monterey County, CA 148 km (92 mi) SE of here earthquakes near Monterey County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

50 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.8 25km WNW of Buttonwillow, CA
  2. 1.8 28km WNW of Buttonwillow, CA
  3. 1.9 27km WNW of Buttonwillow, CA
  4. 2.3 28km WNW of Buttonwillow, CA
  5. 2.1 27km NE of Simmler, CA
  6. 1.7 27km NE of Simmler, CA
  7. 2.6 27km WNW of Buttonwillow, CA
  8. 2.2 28km WNW of Buttonwillow, CA
  9. 2.6 28km NE of Simmler, CA
  10. 2.1 28km WNW of Buttonwillow, CA
  11. 2.1 27km NE of Simmler, CA
  12. 2.4 28km WNW of Buttonwillow, CA
  13. 2.2 28km WNW of Buttonwillow, CA
  14. 2.3 28km NE of Simmler, CA
  15. 1.7 23km NNW of Simmler, CA

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.