QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Avenal, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Avenal in the 24 hours to 2:04 pm PST (22:04 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) north-northeast of Avenal, CA, at 11:53 pm PST on 1 January 2018 (07:53 UTC), 7.7 km deep.

USGS: 10km NNE of Avenal, CA

82 km (51 mi) SSW of Fresno, CA · 48 km (30 mi) WSW of Hanford, CA

11:53 pm PST, Jan 1, 2018 · · 7.7 km deep · released about 8.4 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Avenal Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kings County 26 kmSan Luis Obispo County 84 kmFresno County 85 kmSan Benito County 105 kmMonterey County 110 kmTulare County 120 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
11:53 pm PST on 1 January 2018 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) north-northeast of Avenal, CA · earthquakes near Avenal
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
7.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kings County, 26 km E
Nearest mapped fault
Great Valley thrust fault system, 2 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 3229 days ago

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

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Avenal, 10 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: Huron, Kettleman City, Coalinga, Lemoore Station, Stratford.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 8.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.4 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 17 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 24 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 40 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 37 km WSW of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 39 km SW of this epicentre
  5. 5.6 8 km SW of Huron, California · 8 km NW 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 36.0908, -120.1025. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kings County, CA 26 km (16 mi) E earthquakes near Kings County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 84 km (52 mi) SSW earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Fresno County, CA 85 km (53 mi) NNE earthquakes near Fresno County
San Benito County, CA 105 km (65 mi) WNW earthquakes near San Benito County
Monterey County, CA 110 km (68 mi) W earthquakes near Monterey County
Tulare County, CA 120 km (74 mi) E earthquakes near Tulare 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. 1.5 14km S of Kettleman City, CA
  2. 1.6 16km NW of Parkfield, CA
  3. 2.0 10km NW of Parkfield, CA
  4. 1.7 18km S of Avenal, CA
  5. 2.6 17km NW of Parkfield, CA
  6. 2.3 10km SSW of Huron, CA
  7. 1.6 16km NW of Parkfield, CA
  8. 1.6 8km NW of Kettleman City, CA
  9. 1.7 9km NNW of Kettleman City, CA
  10. 2.3 7km NNW of Lemoore, CA
  11. 2.7 10km NNW of Cholame, CA
  12. 1.8 12km SW of Stratford, CA
  13. 2.0 17km NW of Parkfield, CA
  14. 1.5 7km E of Coalinga, CA
  15. 1.9 24km NW of Parkfield, 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.