QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

38 km WNW of San Simeon, California

· 10.0 km deep · released about 37 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Monterey County 54 kmSan Benito County 100 kmSan Luis Obispo County 111 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
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
10.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Monterey County, 54 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3321 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 37 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 410,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 290,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 26× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 37 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.

Where

Epicentre 35.8010, -121.5657. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection
Monterey County, CA 54 km (33 mi) SSW of here earthquakes near Monterey County
San Benito County, CA 100 km (62 mi) SSW of here earthquakes near San Benito County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 111 km (69 mi) WNW of here 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.

  1. 1.8 6km SE of Lopez Point, CA
  2. 1.6 24km SE of Lopez Point, CA
  3. 1.7 22km NW of San Simeon, CA
  4. 2.0 22km ENE of Lopez Point, CA
  5. 1.9 29km WNW of San Simeon, CA
  6. 1.6 22km NW of San Simeon, CA
  7. 1.6 7km N of Lopez Point, CA
  8. 2.1 18km NNW of San Simeon, CA
  9. 1.7 6km ENE of San Simeon, CA
  10. 1.7 22km NW of San Simeon, CA
  11. 2.2 22km NW of San Simeon, CA
  12. 1.8 23km NW of San Simeon, CA
  13. 2.2 22km NW of San Simeon, CA
  14. 2.2 21km NW of San Simeon, CA
  15. 2.5 22km NW of San Simeon, CA

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.