Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6md
Earthquake near Avenal, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Avenal in the 24 hours to 11:48 pm PST (07:48 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 8 km (5 mi) north-northeast of Avenal, CA, at 3:21 pm PST on 15 January 2018 (23:21 UTC), 7.8 km deep.
USGS: 8km NNE of Avenal, CA
84 km (52 mi) SSW of Fresno, CA · 49 km (31 mi) SW of Hanford, CA
- When
- 3:21 pm PST on 15 January 2018 ()
- Where
- 8 km (5 mi) north-northeast of Avenal, CA · earthquakes near Avenal
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (md)
- Depth
- 7.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Kings County, 26 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- Great Valley thrust fault system, 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 3220 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Avenal, CA
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Avenal, 8 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.
Likely felt in: Avenal 8 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 7.8 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,900,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.8 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:
- 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 26 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 38 km SSW of this epicentre
- 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 37 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 37 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.6 8 km SW of Huron, California · 10 km NNW 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 36.0683, -120.1028. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kings County, CA | 26 km (16 mi) | E | earthquakes near Kings County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 82 km (51 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Fresno County, CA | 87 km (54 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| San Benito County, CA | 107 km (66 mi) | NW | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Monterey County, CA | 111 km (69 mi) | W | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| Tulare County, CA | 120 km (75 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.
- 2.2 14km NNW of Coalinga, CA
- 1.6 13km SW of Huron, CA
- 3.0 12km SW of Huron, CA
- 1.6 14km NNW of Avenal, CA
- 1.7 5km WSW of Huron, CA
- 2.9 8km SSW of Huron, CA
- 1.5 11km SW of Huron, CA
- 2.1 22km W of Alpaugh, CA
- 1.8 23km S of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.5 7km N of Avenal, CA
- 2.6 9km NW of Avenal, CA
- 1.5 14km S of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.6 16km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 2.0 10km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.7 18km S of Avenal, 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
- 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.