Earthquake near Coalinga, CA

USGS: 12 km NNE of Coalinga, California

76 km (47 mi) SW of Fresno, CA · 59 km (36 mi) W of Hanford, CA

9:31 pm PDT, Oct 9, 2016 · 2016-10-10 04:31 UTC · 12 km deep · released about 94 lb 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: 9:31 pm PDT on 9 October 2016 (2016-10-10 04:31 UTC)
Where: 12 km (8 mi) NNE of Coalinga, CA · earthquakes near Coalinga
Magnitude: M 2.3 (md)
Depth: 12 km below the surface
Felt: 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest: Kings County, 47 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault: Great Valley thrust fault system, 5 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

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

A magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 12 km (8 mi) NNE of Coalinga, CA, at 9:31 pm PDT on 9 October 2016 (04:31 UTC). 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS. This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Huron.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 94 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 160,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 110,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 10× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 2.3 about 94 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 16 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 1 km WSW of this epicentre May 2, 1983
6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 32 km SW of this epicentre Mar 3, 1901
6.1 Northwest of Huron, California · 40 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 · 43 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	47 km (29 mi)	ESE	earthquakes near Kings County
San Benito County, CA	82 km (51 mi)	WNW	earthquakes near San Benito County
Fresno County, CA	82 km (51 mi)	NE	earthquakes near Fresno County
Monterey County, CA	91 km (57 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	113 km (70 mi)	NNW	earthquakes near Merced 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.

1.7 11 km ENE of Coalinga, California 16:21 UTC
1.5 22 km NE of San Ardo, California 06:28 UTC
1.9 20 km NW of Parkfield, California 12:57 UTC
1.7 20 km NNE of Coalinga, California 16:58 UTC
2.5 25 km NW of Parkfield, California 17:51 UTC
2.2 12 km NW of Parkfield, California 17:24 UTC
1.6 22 km ENE of San Ardo, California 02:20 UTC
2.4 4 km SW of Stratford, California 05:21 UTC
2.4 20 km NW of Parkfield, California 21:26 UTC
2.4 22 km NW of Parkfield, California 18:08 UTC
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
1.6 22 km NW of Parkfield, California 18:48 UTC
2.1 23 km NE of San Lucas, California 04:00 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 03:27 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.