QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9md

Earthquake near Coalinga, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Coalinga in the 24 hours to 4:58 am PST (12:58 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 4 km (3 mi) SE, at 1:44 am PDT on 4 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Coalinga

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) southwest of Coalinga, CA, at 4:47 pm PST on 10 January 2019 (00:47 UTC), 4.1 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 18km NW of Parkfield, CA

4:47 pm PST, Jan 10, 2019 · · 4.1 km deep · released about 590 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kings County 69 kmSan Luis Obispo County 70 kmMonterey County 71 kmSan Benito County 81 kmFresno County 117 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
4:47 pm PST on 10 January 2019 ()
Where
24 km (15 mi) southwest of Coalinga, CA · earthquakes near Coalinga
Magnitude
M 2.9 (md)
Depth
4.1 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Kings County, 69 km E
Nearest mapped fault
San Andreas fault, under 1 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 2788 days ago

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 30 km (19 mi) from the epicentre. In Coalinga, 24 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: Coalinga 24 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 590 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 26,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 18,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 590 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.0 on 2018-11-27 — about 51 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 24 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 34 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 41 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 7 km E of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 29 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 29 km NE of San Lucas, California · 37 km NNW 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 36.0113, -120.5763. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kings County, CA 69 km (43 mi) E earthquakes near Kings County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 70 km (44 mi) S earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Monterey County, CA 71 km (44 mi) WNW earthquakes near Monterey County
San Benito County, CA 81 km (50 mi) NW earthquakes near San Benito County
Fresno County, CA 117 km (73 mi) NE earthquakes near Fresno County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 11km NW of Parkfield, CA
  2. 3.5 4km SSE of Parkfield, CA
  3. 1.7 10km SSE of Huron, CA
  4. 1.6 10km NNW of Cholame, CA
  5. 2.2 2km NE of Cholame, CA
  6. 1.8 22km ENE of San Ardo, CA
  7. 1.6 7km E of Coalinga, CA
  8. 1.9 7km NW of Parkfield, CA
  9. 1.5 10km SW of Huron, CA
  10. 1.8 16km SW of New Idria, CA
  11. 1.7 11km WSW of Huron, CA
  12. 2.0 18km NW of Parkfield, CA
  13. 1.6 11km ENE of Coalinga, CA
  14. 1.8 6km NNE of Coalinga, CA
  15. 2.9 10km NNW of Cholame, 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.