Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6md
Earthquake near Avenal, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Avenal in the 24 hours to 2:34 pm PST (22:34 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 5 km (3 mi) east-southeast of Avenal, CA, at 9:36 pm PDT on 16 July 2018 (04:36 UTC), 13 km deep.
USGS: 5km ESE of Avenal, CA
91 km (57 mi) SSW of Fresno, CA · 53 km (33 mi) SW of Hanford, CA
- When
- 9:36 pm PDT on 16 July 2018 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) east-southeast of Avenal, CA · earthquakes near Avenal
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (md)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Kings County, 25 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Great Valley thrust fault system, 9 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 3040 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Avenal, 5 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, Huron.
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 16 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 34 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 31 km SSW of this epicentre
- 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 38 km W of this epicentre
- 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 33 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.6 8 km SW of Huron, California · 18 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 35.9918, -120.0755. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kings County, CA | 25 km (16 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Kings County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 75 km (47 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Fresno County, CA | 93 km (58 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| San Benito County, CA | 114 km (71 mi) | NW | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Monterey County, CA | 115 km (71 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| Tulare County, CA | 119 km (74 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Tulare County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
57 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 9km NE of Coalinga, CA
- 1.6 2km NE of Avenal, CA
- 1.5 2km WSW of Avenal, CA
- 2.3 1km ESE of Avenal, CA
- 1.7 3km NE of Avenal, CA
- 1.9 23km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 2.0 8km S of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.7 8km ENE of Coalinga, CA
- 1.6 18km NW of Coalinga, CA
- 1.5 23km S of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.8 12km SE of Huron, CA
- 1.9 7km W of Kettleman City, CA
- 2.1 14km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.5 18km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.6 13km NNW 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.