QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4md

Earthquake near Matheny, CA

USGS: 6 km S of Matheny, California

10 km (6 mi) S of Tulare, CA · 84 km (52 mi) SSE of Fresno, CA

5:49 pm PDT, Sep 25, 2016 · · 24 km deep · released about 130 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kings County 41 kmTulare County 53 kmFresno County 77 kmKern County 102 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
5:49 pm PDT on 25 September 2016 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) S of Matheny, CA · earthquakes near Matheny
Magnitude
M 2.4 (md)
Depth
24 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kings County, 41 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3521 days ago

A magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) S of Matheny, CA, at 5:49 pm PDT on 25 September 2016 (00:49 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Tipton, Tulare, Woodville, Pixley, Corcoran, Poplar-Cotton Center.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 130 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 120,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 83,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 130 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 one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.0 5 km S of Springville, California · 47 km E 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 36.1150, -119.3567. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kings County, CA 41 km (26 mi) W earthquakes near Kings County
Tulare County, CA 53 km (33 mi) ENE earthquakes near Tulare County
Fresno County, CA 77 km (48 mi) NNW earthquakes near Fresno County
Kern County, CA 102 km (64 mi) SSE earthquakes near Kern County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 127 km (79 mi) SW earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 20km SE of Kettleman City, CA
  2. 1.7 10km WNW of Pixley, CA
  3. 2.1 18km WSW of Corcoran, CA
  4. 1.8 8km NNE of Porterville, CA
  5. 2.1 22km W of Alpaugh, CA
  6. 2.3 7km NNW of Lemoore, CA
  7. 2.4 6km WNW of McFarland, CA
  8. 2.8 7km WNW of McFarland, CA
  9. 3.5 18km WSW of Corcoran, CA
  10. 2.2 10km SSW of Alpaugh, CA
  11. 1.9 15km E of Kettleman City, CA
  12. 2.9 6km SSE of Lemoore, CA
  13. 1.9 24km SE of Kettleman City, CA
  14. 1.7 25km SE of Kettleman City, CA
  15. 2.6 18km WSW of Corcoran, 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.