Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3md
Earthquake near Coalinga, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Coalinga in the 24 hours to 2:42 am PST (10:42 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 2.3 earthquake was recorded 33 km (21 mi) north-northwest of Coalinga, CA, at 6:04 pm PST on 2 February 2019 (02:04 UTC), 18 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 14km SW of Cantua Creek, CA
70 km (43 mi) WSW of Fresno, CA
- When
- 6:04 pm PST on 2 February 2019 ()
- Where
- 33 km (21 mi) north-northwest of Coalinga, CA · earthquakes near Coalinga
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (md)
- Depth
- 18 km below the surface
- Felt
- 3 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- San Benito County, 61 km WNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Great Valley thrust fault system, 2 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 2837 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Coalinga, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Coalinga, 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Coalinga, 33 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: San Joaquin.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 74 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 200,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 140,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 13× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 74 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 410 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 25 km SSE of this epicentre
- 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 49 km S of this epicentre
- 6.1 Northwest of Huron, California · 16 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.8 29 km NE of San Lucas, California · 33 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.6 8 km SW of Huron, California · 41 km SE 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 36.4335, -120.4400. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Benito County, CA | 61 km (38 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Kings County, CA | 69 km (43 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Fresno County, CA | 79 km (49 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| Monterey County, CA | 81 km (51 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| Merced County, CA | 88 km (55 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Merced County |
| Madera County, CA | 106 km (66 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Madera County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
55 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 8km W of New Idria, CA
- 1.6 16km NW of Coalinga, CA
- 2.1 22km NE of San Lucas, CA
- 1.6 16km NNW of Coalinga, CA
- 1.6 20km E of Pinnacles, CA
- 3.1 4km NNW of Cantua Creek, CA
- 1.7 11km N of Avenal, CA
- 1.7 23km SE of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.6 12km SSW of Huron, CA
- 2.0 8km NW of Cantua Creek, CA
- 2.0 19km S of New Idria, CA
- 1.8 7km SE of Huron, CA
- 1.9 7km E of Huron, CA
- 1.7 16km SE of New Idria, CA
- 2.0 20km SW of New Idria, 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.