Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7md
Earthquake near Soledad, CA
USGS: 18 km ESE of Big Sur, California
56 km (35 mi) S of Salinas, CA · 125 km (77 mi) S of San Jose, CA
- When
- 1:43 am PDT on 23 May 2017 ()
- Where
- 38 km (24 mi) SW of Soledad, CA · earthquakes near Soledad
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (md)
- Depth
- 8.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Monterey County, 29 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Gregorio fault, 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 3418 days ago
A magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 38 km (24 mi) SW of Soledad, CA, at 1:43 am PDT on 23 May 2017 (08:43 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,300,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 930,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 83× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 · 44 km N of this epicentre
- 5.2 25 km NW of San Simeon, California · 46 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.2 22 km NW of San Simeon, California · 49 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.1 8 km E of Carmel Valley Village, California · 35 km N of this epicentre
- 5.1 3 km W of Soledad, California · 36 km NE 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 36.1848, -121.6280. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monterey County, CA | 29 km (18 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| San Benito County, CA | 68 km (42 mi) | NE | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 98 km (61 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 115 km (72 mi) | N | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| Merced County, CA | 138 km (86 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Merced County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 138 km (86 mi) | SE | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
10 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 8 km E of Chualar, California
- 1.7 16 km WSW of Lockwood, California
- 1.6 18 km NW of Big Sur, California
- 2.1 38 km WNW of San Simeon, California
- 1.7 7 km E of Chualar, California
- 2.4 15 km SSW of Gonzales, California
- 1.5 29 km SSE of Big Sur, California
- 2.0 27 km SSE of Big Sur, California
- 1.9 23 km SE of Big Sur, California
- 1.8 15 km NNW of Big Sur, 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.