Earthquake near Avenal, CA

USGS: 4 km E of Avenal, California

90 km (56 mi) SSW of Fresno, CA · 53 km (33 mi) SW of Hanford, CA

10:48 pm PST, Dec 3, 2016 · 2016-12-04 06:48 UTC · 15 km deep · released about 49 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: 10:48 pm PST on 3 December 2016 (2016-12-04 06:48 UTC)
Where: 4 km (3 mi) E of Avenal, CA · earthquakes near Avenal
Magnitude: M 2.1 (md)
Depth: 15 km below the surface
Felt: no reports yet
Nearest: Kings County, 25 km ENE
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 3521 days ago · we first saw it 3521 days ago

A magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) E of Avenal, CA, at 10:48 pm PST on 3 December 2016 (06:48 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, Huron, Coalinga.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 49 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 310,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 220,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 19× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 2.1 about 49 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 · 33 km NW of this epicentre May 2, 1983
6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 32 km SSW of this epicentre Mar 10, 1922
6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 38 km W of this epicentre Mar 3, 1901
6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 33 km SW of this epicentre Sep 28, 2004
5.6 8 km SW of Huron, California · 17 km NNW of this epicentre Aug 4, 1985

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	25 km (16 mi)	ENE	earthquakes near Kings County
San Luis Obispo County, CA	76 km (47 mi)	SSW	earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Fresno County, CA	92 km (57 mi)	NNE	earthquakes near Fresno County
San Benito County, CA	112 km (70 mi)	NW	earthquakes near San Benito County
Monterey County, CA	114 km (71 mi)	WNW	earthquakes near Monterey County
Tulare County, CA	120 km (74 mi)	ENE	earthquakes near Tulare County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

1.8 16km SSE of Avenal, CA 12:52 UTC
1.8 Central California 07:22 UTC
1.8 15 km SSE of Avenal, California 05:13 UTC
1.6 12 km E of Coalinga, California 16:06 UTC
1.6 6 km NNE of Avenal, California 17:50 UTC
1.8 8 km NE of Avenal, California 17:46 UTC
1.5 10 km NE of Avenal, California 17:45 UTC
1.8 9 km NNE of Coalinga, California 06:18 UTC
1.6 7 km SE of Parkfield, California 09:53 UTC
2.4 7 km SE of Parkfield, California 03:33 UTC
1.7 4 km W of Huron, California 03:06 UTC
1.7 9 km S of Huron, California 18:49 UTC
1.5 9 km SSW of Huron, California 18:00 UTC
1.7 12 km NE of Coalinga, California 02:44 UTC
1.9 8 km NE of Coalinga, California 23:05 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.