QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Avenal, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Avenal in the 24 hours to 9:46 am PST (17:46 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 7 km (4 mi) NW, at 12:34 am PDT on 18 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Avenal

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 19 km (12 mi) east-southeast of Avenal, CA, at 5:15 pm PST on 10 November 2017 (01:15 UTC), 18 km deep.

USGS: Central California

94 km (58 mi) S of Fresno, CA · 49 km (30 mi) SSW of Hanford, CA

5:15 pm PST, Nov 10, 2017 · · 18 km deep · released about 10 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kings County 17 kmSan Luis Obispo County 78 kmFresno County 94 kmTulare County 108 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
5:15 pm PST on 10 November 2017 ()
Where
19 km (12 mi) east-southeast of Avenal, CA · earthquakes near Avenal
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
18 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kings County, 17 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
Great Valley thrust fault system, 7 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 3284 days ago

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

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Avenal, 19 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Kettleman City, Stratford.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 10 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 92× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 10 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 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 47 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 37 km SW of this epicentre
  3. 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 42 km WSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 8 km SW of Huron, California · 30 km NW of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 1966 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 37 km WSW 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 35.9473, -119.9260. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kings County, CA 17 km (11 mi) NE earthquakes near Kings County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 78 km (49 mi) SW earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Fresno County, CA 94 km (58 mi) NNE earthquakes near Fresno County
Tulare County, CA 108 km (67 mi) ENE earthquakes near Tulare County
Kern County, CA 127 km (79 mi) ESE earthquakes near Kern County
San Benito County, CA 128 km (79 mi) NW earthquakes near San Benito County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.7 18km SSW of Kettleman City, CA
  2. 3.5 18km WSW of Corcoran, CA
  3. 1.6 11km E of Coalinga, CA
  4. 2.5 12km E of Coalinga, CA
  5. 1.9 12km E of Coalinga, CA
  6. 2.2 10km SSW of Alpaugh, CA
  7. 1.9 15km E of Kettleman City, CA
  8. 2.9 6km SSE of Lemoore, CA
  9. 1.7 13km W of Huron, CA
  10. 1.9 13km NE of Coalinga, CA
  11. 1.7 8km NNE of Avenal, CA
  12. 1.9 24km SE of Kettleman City, CA
  13. 2.3 18km SSE of Kettleman City, CA
  14. 1.7 25km SE of Kettleman City, CA
  15. 1.9 5km S of Huron, 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.