Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.7md
Earthquake near Cambria, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Cambria in the 24 hours to 11:44 am PST (19:44 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 2.7 earthquake was recorded 12 km (7 mi) north-northwest of Cambria, CA, at 1:14 am PST on 31 December 2018 (09:14 UTC), 5.6 km deep.
USGS: 8km ENE of San Simeon, CA
- When
- 1:14 am PST on 31 December 2018 ()
- Where
- 12 km (7 mi) north-northwest of Cambria, CA · earthquakes near Cambria
- Magnitude
- M 2.7 (md)
- Depth
- 5.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Monterey County, 66 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Hosgri fault, 9 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 2792 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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 25 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Cambria, 12 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Cambria 12 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 390 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 39,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 28,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.5× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.7 about 390 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 · 4 km N of this epicentre
- 6.2 28km NW of Cambria, CA · 21 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.8 1934 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 44 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 35.6687, -121.1065. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monterey County, CA | 66 km (41 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 67 km (42 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| San Benito County, CA | 105 km (65 mi) | N | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Kings County, CA | 125 km (77 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.
- 3.3 9km W of Templeton, CA
- 1.6 14km NW of San Simeon, CA
- 1.9 25km NW of San Simeon, CA
- 1.8 25km NW of San Simeon, CA
- 1.7 25km NW of San Simeon, CA
- 1.8 25km NW of San Simeon, CA
- 3.4 25km NW of San Simeon, CA
- 1.6 2km E of San Ardo, CA
- 1.7 9km W of Templeton, CA
- 2.0 4km W of San Ardo, CA
- 2.3 15km WNW of San Simeon, CA
- 2.1 16km WNW of San Simeon, CA
- 1.6 13km WNW of San Simeon, CA
- 2.3 13km NW of San Simeon, CA
- 1.7 9km SSW of Atascadero, 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.