Earthquake near Soledad, CA

USGS: 18 km SE of Big Sur, California

60 km (37 mi) S of Salinas, CA · 128 km (80 mi) S of San Jose, CA

11:24 pm PST, Dec 4, 2016 · 2016-12-05 07:24 UTC · 15 km deep · released about 44 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: 11:24 pm PST on 4 December 2016 (2016-12-05 07:24 UTC)
Where: 42 km (26 mi) SW of Soledad, CA · earthquakes near Soledad
Magnitude: M 2.1 (md)
Depth: 15 km below the surface
Felt: 2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest: Monterey County, 32 km ENE
Nearest mapped fault: San Gregorio fault, 1 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 42 km (26 mi) SW of Soledad, CA, at 11:24 pm PST on 4 December 2016 (07:24 UTC). 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS. This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 44 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 5.8 340,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 240,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 2.1 about 44 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 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

5.2 5 km SSW of Spreckels, California · 48 km N of this epicentre Oct 5, 1920
5.2 25 km NW of San Simeon, California · 45 km SE of this epicentre Aug 29, 1983
5.2 22 km NW of San Simeon, California · 48 km SE of this epicentre Sep 17, 1991
5.1 8 km E of Carmel Valley Village, California · 39 km N of this epicentre Dec 4, 1931
5.1 3 km W of Soledad, California · 40 km NE of this epicentre Feb 24, 1972

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

Epicentre 36.1520, -121.6557. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Monterey County, CA	32 km (20 mi)	ENE	earthquakes near Monterey County
San Benito County, CA	72 km (45 mi)	NE	earthquakes near San Benito County
Santa Cruz County, CA	101 km (63 mi)	NNW	earthquakes near Santa Cruz County
Santa Clara County, CA	119 km (74 mi)	N	earthquakes near Santa Clara County
San Luis Obispo County, CA	138 km (86 mi)	SE	earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Merced County, CA	143 km (89 mi)	NE	earthquakes near Merced County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

1.7 18 km ESE of Big Sur, California 08:43 UTC
2.0 26 km WSW of Lockwood, California 18:10 UTC
1.8 38 km NW of San Simeon, California 23:48 UTC
1.8 21 km NW of San Simeon, California 00:06 UTC
2.4 21 km NW of San Simeon, California 23:53 UTC
1.9 28 km SE of Big Sur, California 02:03 UTC
2.9 28 km SE of Big Sur, California 21:56 UTC
1.7 23 km NW of San Simeon, California 02:42 UTC
2.2 22 km NW of San Simeon, California 14:16 UTC
2.7 21 km NW of San Simeon, California 14:55 UTC
1.6 39 km WNW of San Simeon, California 05:21 UTC
1.7 31 km WNW of San Simeon, California 04:31 UTC
1.8 5 km SE of Big Sur, California 01:24 UTC
2.2 35 km WSW of Lockwood, California 23:05 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 04:07 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.