Earthquake near Coalinga, CA

Yes. A magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 34 km (21 mi) W of Coalinga, CA, at 9:45 am PDT on 31 August 2016 (16:45 UTC), 8.8 km deep. 4 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

This was on 31 August 2016. The latest near Coalinga: M 2.8 on 22 August 2026.

USGS: 22 km NE of San Ardo, California

9:45 am PDT, Aug 31, 2016 · 2016-08-31 16:45 UTC · 8.8 km deep · released about 460 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Coalinga Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area

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: 9:45 am PDT on 31 August 2016 (2016-08-31 16:45 UTC)
Where: 34 km (21 mi) W of Coalinga, CA · earthquakes near Coalinga
Magnitude: M 2.8 (md)
Depth: 8.8 km below the surface
Felt: 4 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest: Monterey County, 53 km W
Nearest mapped fault: San Andreas fault, under 1 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 3532 days ago · we first saw it 3532 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 25 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Coalinga, 34 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 460 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 33,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 23,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.1× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 2.8 about 460 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 19 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 38 km E of this epicentre May 2, 1983
6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 28 km SE of this epicentre Mar 3, 1901
6.1 Northwest of Huron, California · 39 km NNE of this epicentre May 26, 1905
5.8 29 km NE of San Lucas, California · 15 km NNW of this epicentre Jul 25, 1926
5.8 1934 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 37 km S of this epicentre Jun 8, 1934

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

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Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Monterey County, CA	53 km (33 mi)	W	earthquakes near Monterey County
San Benito County, CA	58 km (36 mi)	NNW	earthquakes near San Benito County
Kings County, CA	83 km (52 mi)	E	earthquakes near Kings County
San Luis Obispo County, CA	91 km (56 mi)	SSE	earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Merced County, CA	114 km (71 mi)	N	earthquakes near Merced County
Fresno County, CA	117 km (73 mi)	NE	earthquakes near Fresno County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

1.5 24 km ENE of Soledad, California 17:19 UTC
1.8 17 km NW of Parkfield, California 08:58 UTC
1.9 16 km NW of Parkfield, California 18:03 UTC
1.5 11 km N of Coalinga, California 00:42 UTC
1.9 24 km NE of Greenfield, California 19:56 UTC
1.8 Central California 18:57 UTC
2.0 34 km NE of King City, California 00:42 UTC
2.0 22 km ENE of San Lucas, California 10:24 UTC
1.7 12 km SW of Huron, California 06:12 UTC
2.3 12 km NNE of Coalinga, California 04:31 UTC
2.0 10 km N of Coalinga, California 14:01 UTC
2.0 23 km NE of San Ardo, California 13:39 UTC
2.0 23 km NE of San Ardo, California 01:24 UTC
3.0 1 km WNW of Parkfield, California 22:37 UTC
1.6 22 km NE of San Lucas, California 18:32 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 11:24 UTC. 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.