Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.5md
Earthquake near Avenal, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Avenal in the 24 hours to 1:44 pm PST (21:44 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 2.5 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) west-northwest of Avenal, CA, at 3:53 pm PDT on 3 September 2018 (22:53 UTC), 16 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 13km WNW of Avenal, CA
90 km (56 mi) SSW of Fresno, CA
- When
- 3:53 pm PDT on 3 September 2018 ()
- Where
- 13 km (8 mi) west-northwest of Avenal, CA · earthquakes near Avenal
- Magnitude
- M 2.5 (md)
- Depth
- 16 km below the surface
- Felt
- 3 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Kings County, 39 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- Great Valley thrust fault system, 13 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 2991 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 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Avenal, 13 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 13 km, intensity II · Coalinga 13 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 160 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 95,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 68,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 6× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.5 about 160 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 19 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 20 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 34 km S of this epicentre
- 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 23 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 29 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.8 1934 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 44 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 36.0600, -120.2515. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kings County, CA | 39 km (24 mi) | E | earthquakes near Kings County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 77 km (48 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Fresno County, CA | 94 km (59 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| San Benito County, CA | 97 km (60 mi) | NW | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Monterey County, CA | 98 km (61 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Monterey County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
54 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 4.0 9km NW of Avenal, CA
- 2.0 17km SSW of New Idria, CA
- 2.1 23km NE of San Ardo, CA
- 1.8 16km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 2.3 22km ENE of San Ardo, CA
- 1.7 22km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 2.1 5km SSW of Huron, CA
- 1.6 22km ENE of San Ardo, CA
- 2.5 21km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.8 11km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.6 18km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.8 2km SSE of Avenal, CA
- 2.3 2km SSE of Avenal, CA
- 1.7 7km NE of Avenal, CA
- 1.6 11km E of Parkfield, 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.