Earthquake near Coalinga, CA

USGS: 11 km N of Coalinga, California

78 km (49 mi) SW of Fresno, CA

12:53 am PDT, Oct 1, 2016 · 2016-10-01 07:53 UTC · 11 km deep · released about 2.9 tons of TNT

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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: 12:53 am PDT on 1 October 2016 (2016-10-01 07:53 UTC)
Where: 12 km (7 mi) N of Coalinga, CA · earthquakes near Coalinga
Magnitude: M 3.5 (mw)
Depth: 11 km below the surface
Felt: 27 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Measured shaking: intensity III (ShakeMap)
Nearest: Kings County, 52 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault: Great Valley thrust fault system, 9 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 3486 days ago · we first saw it 3486 days ago

A magnitude 3.5 earthquake was recorded 12 km (7 mi) N of Coalinga, CA, at 12:53 am PDT on 1 October 2016 (07:53 UTC). 27 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: Huron.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 2.9 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 59,000× the energy of this one
Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,600× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 3.5 about 2.9 tons of TNT
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 6× 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 17 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 4 km ESE of this epicentre May 2, 1983
6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 30 km SSW of this epicentre Mar 3, 1901
6.1 Northwest of Huron, California · 36 km NW of this epicentre May 26, 1905
6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 47 km S of this epicentre Sep 28, 2004
5.8 29 km NE of San Lucas, California · 37 km W of this epicentre Jul 25, 1926

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

Map loads when it scrolls into view

Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Kings County, CA	52 km (33 mi)	ESE	earthquakes near Kings County
San Benito County, CA	77 km (48 mi)	WNW	earthquakes near San Benito County
Fresno County, CA	85 km (53 mi)	NE	earthquakes near Fresno County
Monterey County, CA	86 km (53 mi)	W	earthquakes near Monterey County
San Luis Obispo County, CA	95 km (59 mi)	S	earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Merced County, CA	111 km (69 mi)	NNW	earthquakes near Merced County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

1.6 22 km ENE of San Lucas, California 17:24 UTC
1.6 3 km SSE of Avenal, California 20:20 UTC
1.5 2 km SE of Avenal, California 15:00 UTC
1.7 22 km NE of San Lucas, California 16:44 UTC
1.6 22 km NW of Parkfield, California 18:48 UTC
2.1 23 km NE of San Lucas, California 04:00 UTC
2.2 20 km NW of Parkfield, California 13:23 UTC
1.9 15 km WSW of Three Rocks, California 03:29 UTC
2.8 1 km SSE of Avenal, California 21:39 UTC
1.6 2 km S of Avenal, California 20:46 UTC
2.3 4 km S of Avenal, California 10:04 UTC
1.6 3 km SSE of Avenal, California 14:55 UTC
1.5 2 km S of Avenal, California 14:16 UTC
1.6 17 km S of Three Rocks, California 13:15 UTC
1.7 3 km ESE of Avenal, California 08:45 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 03:31 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.