Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5md
Earthquake near King City, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in King City in the 24 hours to 11:33 am PST (19:33 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 14 km (8 mi) E, at 4:39 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near King City
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 27 km (17 mi) southeast of King City, CA, at 10:45 am PST on 7 December 2018 (18:45 UTC), 4.5 km deep.
USGS: 5km NNE of San Ardo, CA
- When
- 10:45 am PST on 7 December 2018 ()
- Where
- 27 km (17 mi) southeast of King City, CA · earthquakes near King City
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (md)
- Depth
- 4.5 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Monterey County, 43 km WNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas fault, 16 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 2897 days ago
Earthquake alerts for King City, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near King City, 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In King City, 27 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.7 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,600,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.7 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 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.5 10 km NE of San Simeon, California · 45 km SSW of this epicentre
- 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 35 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.8 29 km NE of San Lucas, California · 28 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.8 1934 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 31 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.4 22 km SSW of Three Rocks, California · 44 km NE 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 36.0642, -120.8835. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monterey County, CA | 43 km (27 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| San Benito County, CA | 64 km (39 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 85 km (53 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Kings County, CA | 96 km (60 mi) | E | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Fresno County, CA | 134 km (84 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 146 km (90 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
52 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 18km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.6 16km SE of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.1 22km SW of New Idria, CA
- 1.6 22km NE of San Lucas, CA
- 1.6 5km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 3.2 20km SW of New Idria, CA
- 1.8 6km SW of San Ardo, CA
- 1.7 23km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 2.4 25km E of San Ardo, CA
- 1.6 14km ENE of San Simeon, CA
- 2.5 24km NNW of San Simeon, CA
- 1.5 14km ENE of San Simeon, CA
- 1.9 11km SE of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.5 23km NNE of San Lucas, CA
- 1.7 14km ENE 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.