QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Kettleman City, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Kettleman City in the 24 hours to 1:42 pm PST (21:42 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 13 km (8 mi) S, at 5:43 pm PST on 3 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Kettleman City

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) north of Kettleman City, CA, at 11:09 pm PDT on 12 September 2018 (06:09 UTC), 9.1 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 9km N of Kettleman City, CA

78 km (49 mi) S of Fresno, CA · 38 km (24 mi) SW of Hanford, CA

11:09 pm PDT, Sep 12, 2018 · · 9.1 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Kettleman City Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kings County 13 kmFresno County 79 kmSan Luis Obispo County 90 kmTulare County 107 kmSan Benito County 116 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
11:09 pm PDT on 12 September 2018 ()
Where
9 km (6 mi) north of Kettleman City, CA · earthquakes near Kettleman City
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
9.1 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Kings County, 13 km E
Nearest mapped fault
Great Valley thrust fault system, 6 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 2982 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Kettleman City, 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Stratford, Huron, Avenal, Lemoore Station, Lemoore.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 89× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 36 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 46 km SW of this epicentre
  3. 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 50 km WSW of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 48 km SW of this epicentre
  5. 5.6 8 km SW of Huron, California · 19 km WNW 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 36.0900, -119.9577. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kings County, CA 13 km (8 mi) E earthquakes near Kings County
Fresno County, CA 79 km (49 mi) NNE earthquakes near Fresno County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 90 km (56 mi) SSW earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Tulare County, CA 107 km (66 mi) E earthquakes near Tulare County
San Benito County, CA 116 km (72 mi) WNW earthquakes near San Benito County
Kern County, CA 138 km (86 mi) SE earthquakes near Kern County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 21km SSE of Kettleman City, CA
  2. 1.9 21km SSE of Kettleman City, CA
  3. 2.6 21km SSE of Kettleman City, CA
  4. 1.8 12km ENE of Coalinga, CA
  5. 2.9 12km ENE of Coalinga, CA
  6. 1.9 21km SSE of Kettleman City, CA
  7. 2.4 10km ENE of Coalinga, CA
  8. 1.7 8km SSE of Cantua Creek, CA
  9. 2.9 10km SSE of Cantua Creek, CA
  10. 2.5 8km SSE of Cantua Creek, CA
  11. 2.0 12km NNW of Coalinga, CA
  12. 1.8 4km SSW of Huron, CA
  13. 1.7 11km NNW of Avenal, CA
  14. 1.8 20km SE of Kettleman City, CA
  15. 1.6 6km 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.