Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.2ml
Earthquake near Salinas, CA
USGS: 9 km NNW of Big Sur, California
42 km (26 mi) SSW of Salinas, CA · 105 km (66 mi) S of San Jose, CA
- When
- 1:53 am PST on 10 January 2016 ()
- Where
- 40 km (25 mi) SSW of Salinas, CA · earthquakes near Salinas
- Magnitude
- M 3.2 (ml)
- Depth
- 16 km below the surface
- Felt
- 106 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Measured shaking
- intensity III (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Monterey County, 49 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Gregorio fault, 2 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 1570 days ago
A magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 40 km (25 mi) SSW of Salinas, CA, at 1:53 am PST on 10 January 2016 (09:53 UTC). 106 people have reported feeling it to USGS. This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Carmel Valley Village, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Del Rey Oaks, Del Monte Forest, Monterey, Seaside.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1.1 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 150,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 6,900× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 4,900× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.2 about 1.1 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.3× more
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 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.2 5 km SSW of Spreckels, California · 30 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.1 8 km E of Carmel Valley Village, California · 23 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.1 3 km W of Soledad, California · 44 km E of this epicentre
- 5.1 14 km NW of Big Sur, California · 6 km NW 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 36.3482, -121.8453. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monterey County, CA | 49 km (30 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| San Benito County, CA | 74 km (46 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 75 km (47 mi) | N | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 98 km (61 mi) | N | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| San Mateo County, CA | 127 km (79 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| Merced County, CA | 137 km (85 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Merced County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
6 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 20 km S of Big Sur, California
- 1.6 20 km SE of Big Sur, California
- 1.6 7 km NW of Big Sur, California
- 1.6 7 km ESE of Prunedale, California
- 1.9 24 km SE of Big Sur, California
- 1.9 Central California
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.