Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.0ml
Earthquake near Nipomo, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Nipomo in the 24 hours to 3:43 am PST (11:43 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 63 km (39 mi) NNW, at 9:54 am PST on 18 November 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,099 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Nipomo
This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 23 km (14 mi) north-northeast of Nipomo, CA, at 7:36 pm PDT on 23 September 2020 (02:36 UTC), 5.7 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 23km NNE of Nipomo, CA
34 km (21 mi) NNE of Santa Maria, CA · 120 km (75 mi) W of Bakersfield, CA
- When
- 7:36 pm PDT on 23 September 2020 ()
- Where
- 23 km (14 mi) north-northeast of Nipomo, CA · earthquakes near Nipomo
- Magnitude
- M 2.0 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity I
- Nearest
- San Luis Obispo County, 20 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Los Osos fault, 15 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2234 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Nipomo, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Nipomo, CA. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Nipomo, 23 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach, Oceano, Pismo Beach, San Luis Obispo, Callender.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 29 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 520,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 370,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 33× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.0 about 29 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.
For this area
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.8 Near Los Alamos, California · 48 km S of this epicentre
- 5.0 5 km SSW of Nipomo, California · 29 km SSW of this epicentre
Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.
Where
Epicentre 35.2275, -120.3557. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 20 km (12 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 82 km (51 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| Kings County, CA | 106 km (66 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Monterey County, CA | 142 km (88 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| Ventura County, CA | 148 km (92 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Ventura County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
26 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.8 16km W of Simmler, CA
- 1.6 10km SW of Templeton, CA
- 1.7 6km E of Atascadero, CA
- 1.5 6km E of Atascadero, CA
- 1.7 9km WSW of Atascadero, CA
- 1.6 7km E of Atascadero, CA
- 1.7 8km SW of Atascadero, CA
- 2.0 13km SW of Guadalupe, CA
- 1.5 6km NNE of Santa Margarita, CA
- 1.5 6km NE of Santa Margarita, CA
- 1.6 10km SSE of Orcutt, CA
- 1.5 10km SSE of Orcutt, CA
- 1.7 7km SSW of Atascadero, CA
- 1.8 11km ENE of Santa Maria, CA
- 1.9 6km SW of San Luis Obispo, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.