QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0md

Earthquake near Merced, CA

USGS: 9 km SE of Catheys Valley, California

69 km (43 mi) NNW of Fresno, CA · 41 km (25 mi) E of Merced, CA

10:42 pm PDT, May 17, 2016 · · 21 km deep · released about 27 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Merced Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mariposa County 25 kmMadera County 31 kmMerced County 65 kmTuolumne County 72 kmFresno County 76 kmStanislaus County 89 kmCalaveras County 102 kmMono County 118 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
10:42 pm PDT on 17 May 2016 ()
Where
41 km (26 mi) ENE of Merced, CA · earthquakes near Merced
Magnitude
M 2.0 (md)
Depth
21 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mariposa County, 25 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3522 days ago

A magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 41 km (26 mi) ENE of Merced, CA, at 10:42 pm PDT on 17 May 2016 (05:42 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Mariposa, Midpines, Le Grand, Ahwahnee, Planada.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 27 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 560,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 390,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 35× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 27 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 since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 37.3735, -120.0267. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mariposa County, CA 25 km (15 mi) NNE earthquakes near Mariposa County
Madera County, CA 31 km (19 mi) SE earthquakes near Madera County
Merced County, CA 65 km (40 mi) WSW earthquakes near Merced County
Tuolumne County, CA 72 km (45 mi) N earthquakes near Tuolumne County
Fresno County, CA 76 km (47 mi) SSE earthquakes near Fresno County
Stanislaus County, CA 89 km (55 mi) WNW earthquakes near Stanislaus County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 11km SSW of Bootjack, CA
  2. 1.9 2km E of Yosemite Lakes, CA
  3. 2.0 5km E of Yosemite Lakes, CA
  4. 1.9 5km E of Yosemite Lakes, CA
  5. 2.0 3km ENE of Yosemite Lakes, CA
  6. 3.1 10km NNE of Oakhurst, CA
  7. 1.7 21km SSW of Bootjack, CA
  8. 2.4 11km NNW of Yosemite Lakes, CA
  9. 2.0 13km NW of Yosemite Lakes, CA
  10. 2.6 10km NNW of Yosemite Lakes, CA
  11. 1.9 8km SSW of Bootjack, CA
  12. 1.7 10km NE of Ahwahnee, CA
  13. 1.6 15km SSW of Bootjack, CA
  14. 2.0 14km SSW of Mariposa, CA
  15. 1.9 12km ENE of Oakhurst, 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.