Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6md
Earthquake near Cambria, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Cambria in the 24 hours to 6:59 am PST (14:59 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 18 km (11 mi) NNE, at 5:04 pm PDT on 21 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Cambria
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) north of Cambria, CA, at 1:45 am PDT on 22 August 2018 (08:45 UTC), 8.1 km deep.
USGS: 10km E of San Simeon, CA
- When
- 1:45 am PDT on 22 August 2018 ()
- Where
- 11 km (7 mi) north of Cambria, CA · earthquakes near Cambria
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (md)
- Depth
- 8.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Luis Obispo County, 64 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Hosgri fault, 10 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 3004 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Cambria, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Cambria, 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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Cambria, 11 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: Lake Nacimiento, Cayucos.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 6.8 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 2,200,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.8 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 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.5 10 km NE of San Simeon, California · 5 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.2 28km NW of Cambria, CA · 24 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.8 1934 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 43 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.7 Southwest of Cambria, California · 21 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.2 26km NNW of Lake Nacimiento, CA · 34 km NNE 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 35.6587, -121.0768. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 64 km (40 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Monterey County, CA | 68 km (42 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| San Benito County, CA | 106 km (66 mi) | N | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Kings County, CA | 123 km (76 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Kings County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
39 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 5km NNE of San Ardo, CA
- 1.6 4km WSW of San Ardo, CA
- 2.2 8km ENE of San Simeon, CA
- 1.5 8km WNW of Templeton, CA
- 2.0 13km WSW of Lake Nacimiento, CA
- 2.0 11km WSW of Templeton, CA
- 1.9 11km NNE of San Simeon, CA
- 2.7 22km SSW of San Simeon, CA
- 1.5 15km W of Lake Nacimiento, CA
- 1.8 18km W of San Simeon, CA
- 2.6 13km WSW of Lake Nacimiento, CA
- 2.3 11km S of Cambria, CA
- 1.8 7km ENE of San Simeon, CA
- 1.9 13km WSW of Lake Nacimiento, CA
- 1.6 10km NE of San Simeon, 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.