Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3md
Earthquake near Riverdale, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Riverdale in the 24 hours to 4:07 am PST (12:07 UTC). The last one was M 3.3, 38 km (24 mi) S, at 6:21 am PDT on 4 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Riverdale
This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 9 km (5 mi) south of Riverdale, CA, at 4:04 am PDT on 14 August 2018 (11:04 UTC), 16 km deep.
USGS: 9km S of Riverdale, CA
48 km (30 mi) S of Fresno, CA · 18 km (11 mi) W of Hanford, CA
- When
- 4:04 am PDT on 14 August 2018 ()
- Where
- 9 km (5 mi) south of Riverdale, CA · earthquakes near Riverdale
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (md)
- Depth
- 16 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Kings County, 31 km S
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3008 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Riverdale, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Riverdale, CA. No account or email needed.
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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Riverdale, 9 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: Lemoore 9 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 72 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 210,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 150,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 13× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 72 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 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 43 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.6 8 km SW of Huron, California · 36 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.5 11 km NNE of Coalinga, California · 42 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.5 11 km NE of Coalinga, California · 41 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.3 4 km NNE of Coalinga, California · 48 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 36.3538, -119.8530. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kings County, CA | 31 km (20 mi) | S | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Fresno County, CA | 49 km (30 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| Madera County, CA | 96 km (59 mi) | N | earthquakes near Madera County |
| Tulare County, CA | 97 km (60 mi) | E | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| San Benito County, CA | 114 km (71 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 120 km (75 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 12km ENE of Coalinga, CA
- 2.9 12km ENE of Coalinga, CA
- 2.4 10km ENE of Coalinga, CA
- 1.7 8km SSE of Cantua Creek, CA
- 2.9 10km SSE of Cantua Creek, CA
- 2.5 8km SSE of Cantua Creek, CA
- 1.8 4km SSW of Huron, CA
- 1.7 11km NNW of Avenal, CA
- 1.6 6km NE of Coalinga, CA
- 1.8 7km SW of Huron, CA
- 2.3 12km NNW of Avenal, CA
- 1.8 8km SSE of Huron, CA
- 1.7 10km NNW of Avenal, CA
- 1.8 5km NE of Coalinga, CA
- 1.6 10km NE of Coalinga, 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.