Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.2md
Earthquake near King City, CA
USGS: 35 km WSW of Lockwood, California
91 km (57 mi) S of Salinas, CA
- When
- 3:05 pm PST on 9 December 2016 ()
- Where
- 48 km (30 mi) SW of King City, CA · earthquakes near King City
- Magnitude
- M 2.2 (md)
- Depth
- 8.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Monterey County, 43 km NNE
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Gregorio fault, under 1 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 2.2 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) SW of King City, CA, at 3:05 pm PST on 9 December 2016 (23:05 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 67 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 230,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 160,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 14× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.2 about 67 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 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.5 10 km NE of San Simeon, California · 39 km ESE of this epicentre
- 6.2 28km NW of Cambria, CA · 22 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.7 Southwest of Cambria, California · 49 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.2 26km NNW of Lake Nacimiento, CA · 46 km E of this epicentre
- 5.2 25 km NW of San Simeon, California · 12 km ESE 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 35.8785, -121.4698. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monterey County, CA | 43 km (26 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| San Benito County, CA | 88 km (55 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 107 km (67 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo 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.
- 2.0 8 km SW of Oak Shores, California
- 2.3 8 km NE of San Simeon, California
- 1.7 8 km E of San Simeon, California
- 1.7 16 km WSW of Lockwood, California
- 1.8 14 km NNW of San Simeon, California
- 1.7 7 km NE of Lockwood, California
- 2.1 38 km WNW of San Simeon, California
- 1.9 21 km NW of San Simeon, California
- 2.1 12 km WNW of Oak Shores, California
- 2.0 17 km NW of San Simeon, California
- 1.6 10 km ENE of San Simeon, California
- 1.6 6 km ENE of San Simeon, California
- 2.2 10 km WSW of Oak Shores, California
- 3.0 10 km WSW of Oak Shores, California
- 1.8 6 km WSW of San Ardo, 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
- 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.