Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9md
Earthquake near Avenal, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Avenal in the 24 hours to 2:34 am PST (10:34 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 7 km (4 mi) NW, at 12:34 am PDT on 18 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Avenal
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 39 km (25 mi) south-southeast of Avenal, CA, at 8:46 am PST on 22 February 2019 (16:46 UTC), 14 km deep. 4 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 30km E of Cholame, CA
91 km (57 mi) WNW of Bakersfield, CA
- When
- 8:46 am PST on 22 February 2019 ()
- Where
- 39 km (25 mi) south-southeast of Avenal, CA · earthquakes near Avenal
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (md)
- Depth
- 14 km below the surface
- Felt
- 4 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Kings County, 46 km NNE
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas fault, 18 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 2819 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Avenal, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Avenal, 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 2 km (1 mi) from the epicentre. In Avenal, 39 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Lost Hills.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 19 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 810,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 580,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 51× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 19 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 1,600 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 27 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 40 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.5 1966 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 32 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.0 11 km NNE of Shandon, California · 34 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.0 11 km NNE of Shandon, California · 34 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 35.6753, -119.9650. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kings County, CA | 46 km (29 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Kings County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 54 km (34 mi) | SW | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Kern County, CA | 118 km (73 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Tulare County, CA | 123 km (76 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| San Benito County, CA | 145 km (90 mi) | NW | earthquakes near San Benito 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.
- 2.6 9km NW of Avenal, CA
- 1.8 12km N of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.8 11km NNW of Kettleman City, CA
- 2.6 11km N of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.6 10km NW of Avenal, CA
- 1.6 11km NW of Avenal, CA
- 2.0 10km NW of Avenal, CA
- 2.4 11km NW of Avenal, CA
- 1.6 13km SSE of Shandon, CA
- 1.5 6km W of Avenal, CA
- 2.7 6km W of Avenal, CA
- 1.8 5km W of Avenal, CA
- 3.1 6km W of Avenal, CA
- 3.1 9km NNW of Cholame, CA
- 2.2 18km SE of Shandon, 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.