QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.2md

Earthquake near Soledad, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Soledad in the 24 hours to 8:36 am PST (16:36 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 26 km (16 mi) N, at 2:58 pm PDT on 22 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Soledad

This page: a magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded 28 km (17 mi) east of Soledad, CA, at 2:33 pm PST on 23 January 2018 (22:33 UTC), 7.1 km deep.

USGS: 13km ESE of Pinnacles, CA

60 km (37 mi) ESE of Salinas, CA · 116 km (72 mi) SE of San Jose, CA

2:33 pm PST, Jan 23, 2018 · · 7.1 km deep · released about 67 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Benito County 17 kmMonterey County 37 kmMerced County 85 kmSanta Clara County 102 kmSanta Cruz County 106 kmKings County 117 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
2:33 pm PST on 23 January 2018 ()
Where
28 km (17 mi) east of Soledad, CA · earthquakes near Soledad
Magnitude
M 2.2 (md)
Depth
7.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Benito County, 17 km NNW
Nearest mapped fault
San Andreas fault, 3 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 3213 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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Soledad, 28 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: Greenfield.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 67 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 230,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 160,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 14× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 67 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.6 on 2017-11-13 — about 3,300 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.1 Northwest of Huron, California · 38 km E of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 10 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 34 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 Near Paicines, California · 30 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 29 km NE of San Lucas, California · 30 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 12 km S of Tres Pinos, California · 34 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 36.4705, -121.0225. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Benito County, CA 17 km (10 mi) NNW earthquakes near San Benito County
Monterey County, CA 37 km (23 mi) SW earthquakes near Monterey County
Merced County, CA 85 km (53 mi) NNE earthquakes near Merced County
Santa Clara County, CA 102 km (64 mi) NW earthquakes near Santa Clara County
Santa Cruz County, CA 106 km (66 mi) NW earthquakes near Santa Cruz County
Kings County, CA 117 km (73 mi) ESE earthquakes near Kings County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 12km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
  2. 1.7 7km SSW of Ridgemark, CA
  3. 1.7 20km SW of New Idria, CA
  4. 2.2 4km ENE of Pinnacles, CA
  5. 2.0 5km ENE of New Idria, CA
  6. 1.6 6km NNE of Pinnacles, CA
  7. 3.1 6km NNE of Pinnacles, CA
  8. 3.4 13km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
  9. 1.8 16km SE of Pinnacles, CA
  10. 2.1 16km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
  11. 3.0 17km NNE of New Idria, CA
  12. 1.7 15km WSW of Cantua Creek, CA
  13. 2.0 3km N of Pinnacles, CA
  14. 2.0 7km N of Pinnacles, CA
  15. 1.7 2km SSW of New Idria, 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.