QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Huron, CA

USGS: 12 km SSE of Huron, CA

78 km (48 mi) SSW of Fresno, CA · 42 km (26 mi) SW of Hanford, CA

10:33 am PST, Nov 18, 2016 · · 10 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kings County 20 kmFresno County 80 kmSan Luis Obispo County 89 kmSan Benito County 109 kmTulare County 113 kmMonterey County 116 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
10:33 am PST on 18 November 2016 ()
Where
12 km (7 mi) SSE of Huron, CA · earthquakes near Huron
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kings County, 20 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Great Valley thrust fault system, 4 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

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

A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 12 km (7 mi) SSE of Huron, CA, at 10:33 am PST on 18 November 2016 (18:33 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Kettleman City, Avenal, Lemoore Station, Stratford, Coalinga.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 15 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 730,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 65× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 17 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 28 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 45 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 44 km WSW of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 44 km SW of this epicentre
  5. 5.6 8 km SW of Huron, California · 11 km WNW 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 36.1120, -120.0360. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kings County, CA 20 km (13 mi) ESE earthquakes near Kings County
Fresno County, CA 80 km (50 mi) NNE earthquakes near Fresno County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 89 km (55 mi) SSW earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
San Benito County, CA 109 km (68 mi) WNW earthquakes near San Benito County
Tulare County, CA 113 km (70 mi) E earthquakes near Tulare County
Monterey County, CA 116 km (72 mi) W earthquakes near Monterey County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 7 km SE of Parkfield, California
  2. 2.4 7 km SE of Parkfield, California
  3. 1.7 4 km W of Huron, California
  4. 1.7 9 km S of Huron, California
  5. 1.5 9 km SSW of Huron, California
  6. 1.7 12 km NE of Coalinga, California
  7. 1.9 8 km NE of Coalinga, California
  8. 1.6 14 km NW of Parkfield, California
  9. 2.2 13 km E of Kettleman City, California
  10. 1.6 9 km NW of Parkfield, California
  11. 2.5 2 km W of Home Garden, California
  12. 1.8 11 km WSW of Huron, California
  13. 2.3 4 km WNW of Parkfield, California
  14. 1.8 14 km WNW of Huron, California
  15. 1.9 3 km ESE of Avenal, California

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.